Hostage video accuses snatched peace activists of spying on Iraq
Four peace activists, including a Briton, taken hostage in Iraq were accused of being spies in a video released last night by a previously unknown group of insurgents.
Unknown insurgent group releases tape of captives
In a development which one terrorism expert said was “ominous” the kidnappers, who called themselves the Swords of Righteousness brigade, said Norman Kember and the three other men held with him had been masquerading as Christian peace activists in the country to work as spies.
Mr Kember, 74, was pictured in the video seated next to three other men, who are believed to be an American and two Canadians taken with him from western Baghdad on Saturday. Their identities have yet to be confirmed.
Unlike in some previous videos released by kidnappers in Iraq, Mr Kember and his colleagues were not caged and were not made to wear orange overalls like those worn by terror suspects held by the US at Guantánamo Bay.
guardian.co.uk
Christian Peacemaker Team website
We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people. Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has worked for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained and abused by the U.S. government. We were the first people to publicly denounce the torture of Iraqi people at the hands of U.S. forces, long before the western media admitted what was happening at Abu Ghraib. We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people We hope that we can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates.
A photo on their homepage shows some of their members ‘get in the way’ of Israeli soldiers preparing to fire on Palestinian protesters. These ‘kidnappers’ have an uncanny knack for snatching people who want the truth of Iraq to be told.