Kidnapped British Aid Worker Murdered

[Nickdfresh]

British official: Iraq charity worker believed killed
Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Posted: 12:56 PM EST (1756 GMT)

(CNN) -- The director of CARE in Iraq, who was kidnapped last month, may have been executed, a British official with knowledge of the abduction said Tuesday.

The Foreign Office official said: "There is a video. ... We believe it is probably genuine, but we cannot be certain at this time."

Officials are in close contact with the family of Margaret Hassan and will release a statement in a few hours when they know what has actually happened to her, the office said.

It was not confirming or denying her death at this point.

Hassan, who was born in Ireland and had lived in Iraq for 30 years, was kidnapped on October 19 by a group that did not identify itself.

The group said November 2 that it would turn Hassan over to an al Qaeda-affiliated group if the British government did not pull its troops out of Iraq within 48 hours, the Arab TV network Al-Jazeera said at the time.

CARE International suspended its operations in Iraq the day after Hassan was kidnapped in Baghdad.

Hours after the abduction, Al-Jazeera aired a video of Hassan sitting in a room, talking and appearing both tired and anxious. The Arabic-language TV network said the video was accompanied by a claim of responsibility from an unnamed, armed Iraqi group.

Hassan, who was born in Ireland, held duel British and Iraqi citizenships, and was a highly respected humanitarian official in the Middle East for 25 years.

Hassan was believed to be the eighth foreign woman to be abducted. All the others, including two Italian female aid workers, have been freed unharmed.

[WACF]

Newspaper yesterday had a picture of Marines walking past the body of a mutilated western female laying in the street.

Only her and one other western woman have been reported missing.

Hassan did a lot of good work there...truly sad...

[Nickdfresh]

She was shot in the head.

[Rikk]

She wasn't beheaded?

Whichever it was, that's just fucking horrible and very sad.

[WACF]

She did more for the Iraqi people than those insurgents could ever hope to do...

[Nickdfresh]

The insurgents did more for the Iraqi Gov't than we could ever do. Killing woman is especially touchy and cowardly under Islam.

[Switch84]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
She was shot in the head.

:( Oh my God..........

[John Ashcroft]

This is what we're up against.

They simply must be defeated. Surely even the most liberal of you see this?!!

[ELVIS]

They do not see it...

[rustoffa]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
The insurgents did more for the Iraqi Gov't than we could ever do. Killing woman is especially touchy and cowardly under Islam.

I'll be a sonofabitch!
You mean to tell me these people are twisting certain aspects of their handbook that far?

Plain and simple, it doesn't fucking matter.

The masses are asses and squalor-dwelling dipshits with historically corrupted leadership don't give the rat's ass they're eating.

Al Ja fucking ZZZeera could broadcast scat films in the name of allah at this point.

The stupid motherfucking Palestinians will blow sand bubble noises and spill their spleens all over if you give 'em a tape delay of anything.

Shit, I wonder what arafat's widow invests her 20 mil a year in.....

Kill 'em.....just fucking kill 'em.

[Big Train]

It is REALLY interesting (maybe you Canadiens who get the station can vouch for this) the Al-Jazeera showed the marine shooting REPEATEDLY today, yet did not show the footage of this aid worker, as it was deemed "too graphic".

THis is not a fair fight and I hope the journalists doing their job understand this.

[ELVIS]

It's because the liberal media is anti-American, and they will do anything to portray America in a bad light...

[Loki]

social-crat or republi-nazi, only a fool & a coward wouldst tolerate the slaying of women. these curs and dog-sons must be butchered in the streets, there blood must flow like a mighty river, straight to the heart of their misbegotten kingdom. like the beserkers of old, the warriors of today must strike fear into the hearts of thine enemies.

[ELVIS]

I agree...

[lucky wilbury]

anyone want to bet that if this is true they'll say it was in retalitaion for our guy taking that one guy out? that claim will be bullshit since she was probably killed before out guy killed that one guy but thats the spin that will happen.

[frets5150]

Those BASTARDS already killed men and women and both the
us and british government don't seem to care IMFAO.What next
are they gonna start beheading and killin little children now.

[JCOOK]

Can we stop calling these animals(sorry thats' an insult to animals)"insurgents, they are fucking terrorists plain and simple.Anyone who dissagress with them must die.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Big Train
It is REALLY interesting (maybe you Canadiens who get the station can vouch for this) the Al-Jazeera showed the marine shooting REPEATEDLY today, yet did not show the footage of this aid worker, as it was deemed "too graphic".

THis is not a fair fight and I hope the journalists doing their job understand this.

I agree for once! It's a very interesting contradiction. ABC played footage of one Middle Eastern TV report (not sure which one) where they CG'd a circle over the guy's blood spatter on the wall.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by ELVIS
It's because the liberal media is anti-American, and they will do anything to portray America in a bad light...

That is not true. You're insane if you believe that.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by lucky wilbury
anyone want to bet that if this is true they'll say it was in retalitaion for our guy taking that one guy out? that claim will be bullshit since she was probably killed before out guy killed that one guy but thats the spin that will happen.

Would it make any real difference either way?

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by frets5150
Those BASTARDS already killed men and women and both the
us and british government don't seem to care IMFAO.What next
are they gonna start beheading and killin little children now.

Maybe, notice how no one is shocked by the beheadings anymore?

[Nickdfresh]

Hassan: 'Abhorrent act' says Blair
Husband appeals to kidnappers for return of wife's body
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Posted: 7:38 AM EST (1238 GMT)

(CNN) -- Western political leaders have united to condemn the kidnappers of charity worker Margaret Hassan after a video surfaced apparently showing a militant firing a pistol into the head of a blindfolded woman wearing an orange jumpsuit.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent his sympathy to Hassan's family, saying he "shared their abhorrence" at her treatment.

Irish leader Bertie Ahern said her kidnappers "stand condemned by everyone throughout the entire international community."

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said experts had examined the video and concluded that Hassan "probably" had been murdered.

"To kidnap and kill anyone is inexcusable. But it is repugnant to commit such a crime against a woman who has spent most of her life working for the good of the people of Iraq," Straw said.

Tahseen Hassan, husband of the 59-year-old hostage who had been held in captivity since October 19, said he also believed his wife had been murdered.

In a television plea, he said: "I have been told that there is a video of Margaret which appears to show her murder. The video may be genuine but I do not know.

"I beg those people who took Margaret to tell me what they have done with her.

"They can tell me. They can call the helpline. I need her. I need her back to rest in peace."

Several hundred mourners packed a Roman Catholic church in Ireland Wednesday to pay their final respects to Margaret Hassan.

The joint Catholic-Protestant service was in the southwest village of Kenmare, where Hassan's sister Geraldine Riney lives.

The Rev. Tom Crean, the Catholic parish priest of Kenmare, told mourners -- among them more than 100 children in their Kenmare school uniforms -- that her killing represented "an unspeakable loss."

Hassan, Irish-born and with dual British and Iraqi nationality, was seized by gunmen on her way to work in western Baghdad early in the morning.

She headed CARE International's operations in Iraq and had lived with her husband in the country for 30 years.

"She dedicated her life to serving the Iraqi people. Please now, please return her to me," her husband said.

Her family, including her sisters and brothers, said their hearts were "broken" by the news.

"We have kept hoping for as long as we could, but we now have to accept that Margaret has probably gone and at last her suffering has ended," they said in a statement.

The video, supposedly showing Hassan's death, was sent to Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera a few days ago. No group has claimed responsibility for her kidnapping or murder.

"Al-Jazeera has obtained a video showing a masked militant shooting a blindfolded woman, who was referred to as Margaret Hassan, in the head using a handgun. Al-Jazeera decided to wait on reporting the news until it confirmed the authenticity of the tape," the network said.

Al-Jazeera did not show the video.

CARE, for whom Hassan had worked for more than 12 years, issued a written statement through a spokesman, saying the whole organization was in mourning.

"It is with profound sadness that we have learnt of the existence of a video in which it appears that our colleague Margaret Hassan has been killed," the statement said.

"We are shocked and appalled that this has been the apparent outcome of her abduction."

Her family added: "Those who are guilty of this atrocious act, and those who support them, have no excuses. Nobody can justify this. Margaret was against sanctions and the war.

"Margaret had only good will towards everyone. She had no prejudice against any creed. She dedicated her whole life to working for the poor and vulnerable, helping those who had no one else."

The letter was written by Michael, Dierdre, Geraldine and Kathryn Fitzsimons, brothers and sisters of Hassan, and was issued at their request by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office press office.(Full statement)

The kidnappers of Hassan said on November 2 that they would turn Hassan over to an al Qaeda-affiliated group -- Base of Jihad -- if the British government did not pull its troops out of Iraq within 48 hours, Al-Jazeera reported.

Base of Jihad has been blamed for numerous beheadings of foreigners in Iraq, including the slayings of Americans Nicholas Berg, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, and Briton Kenneth Bigley.

They also claimed responsibility for the killing of a Japanese hostage.

At the height of the war, about 46,000 British troops were in Iraq. About 8,500 remained in late October.

Early this month, Hassan's three sisters met with Irish PM Ahern and appealed to her captors for her release. Relatives also begged Blair and the British government to meet the kidnappers' demands.

But one of her sisters, Dierdre Fitzsimons, said, "We are Irish, and we have no influence on the British government."

Hassan appeared in two videos, aired by Al-Jazeera in October, pleading for her life. In one, on October 27, she urges Britons to pressure Blair to withdraw troops from the country.

Hassan also called for the release of all female prisoners in Iraq and urged CARE's board of directors to end operations in Iraq, an action they already had taken.

Hassan's pleas are not heard in the tape, but an anchor for Al-Jazeera described the contents of her message. Five days earlier, a videotape of Hassan shows her tearfully urging Blair to pull troops from Iraq.

Hassan was kidnapped on the street shortly after she arrived at her office. Her abductors never explained why she was targeted.

Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hassan is seen in this January 2003 photo taken in New York.
Image:

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
That is not true. You're insane if you believe that.

Uh.....if Elvis is saying that a good portion of the American media is liberal then, YES, I agree with that also. I think a good percentage of the American public does as well. Just because you see it otherwise does not make it so. :gulp:

On the otherhand, if Elvis is saying the international media is trying to portray America in a bad light, I agree with that feeling as well.

[Nickdfresh]

Actually he went beyond that with a conspiratorial view that the media was out to destroy America. And there are plenty of right wing voices in the media, you guys seem to find them alright.

[WACF]

Body in Iraq not that of kidnapped CARE worker
Last Updated Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:28:37 EST
LONDON - The mutilated body of a woman found in Iraq two weeks ago is not that of kidnapped aid worker Margaret Hassan, Britain's Foreign Office said on Wednesday.


INDEPTH: Iraq


Margaret Hassan (File Photo)
British officials said dental tests comparing the teeth of the dead person with Hassan's dental records don't match. But the Foreign Office said it believes the 59-year-old director of CARE International is dead.

Hassan, who held British, Irish and Iraqi passports, was abducted Oct. 19 on her way to work in Baghdad.

She was later seen in several videos pleading for Britain to withdraw troops from Iraq. No group has claimed responsibility for her kidnapping.


FROM NOV. 16, 2004: Family 'heartbroken,' CARE director believed executed in Iraq

U.S. marines discovered the body on a street in Fallujah on Nov. 14. The person was wearing a purple dress and wrapped in a blanket. U.S. officials said they believed it was that of a Western woman.

Two days later, Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera received a video showing a hooded man shooting a blindfolded woman in the head.

British authorities viewed the tape and concluded that it was probably Hassan.

At the time, her family issued a statement saying they believed Hassan was dead.

If it's confirmed, Hassan's murder marks the first time a foreign female hostage has been killed by militants in Iraq.

Written by CBC News Online staff