Did you get reimbursed?

Wonder if you could make a case with travel insurance. After all the device was technically stolen from you, under threat of violence.

Were they surprised at your refusal?

They had no idea how to react, lol

Why not just throw it away yourself?

It was out of my sight for half an hour, I'm not so much as touching it again after that.

What harm would happen if you touched it long enough to put it in a trash can? You were concerned they may have poisoned it or something? I completely understand not wanting to operate it since they could have backdoored it or put tracking devices in it, etc.

He took possession. If anything is on that phone now, it's now a game to see who was the last one to have it and to put whatever is there in it.