Three Years of Captivity for Gilad Shalit

A sad anniversary today as it has been 3 years since Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on the Israel-Gaza border. Via BBC:

Israel is marking three years since Sgt Gilad Shalit, then aged 19, was seized by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid launched from Gaza.

Indirect talks on his release between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, have so far been fruitless.

Hamas wants hundreds of Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails, while Israel refuses to lift a blockade of Gaza until Sgt Shalit is released.

Human Rights Watch said his detention "may amount to torture".

The international rights group said his captivity was "cruel and inhumane" and called on Hamas to allow him to communicate with his family and receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Israeli rights group B'tselem said Sgt Shalit was legally a hostage, and hostage taking was a violation of international humanitarian law.

Since the 2006 abduction, Gilad's parents have been relentless in seeking assistance in winning his release, meeting with European and American political leaders and even the Pope. Please continue to pray that their love and perseverance will be rewarded when they are blessedly reunited with their long-lost son.

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Gilad Shalit archive

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

MV Marathon Released, Crewmember Found Dead

The MV Marathon, a Dutch cargo ship hijacked in May, has been released by its Somali captors, but tragically, one of its crewmembers was found dead and another wounded. Via AFP:

THE HAGUE (AFP) — Somali pirates shot dead a Ukrainian sailor during the hijack of a Dutch ship, the Dutch defence ministry said, adding that rescuers discovered the body when the ship was released Tuesday.

The pirates released the MV Marathon, which had been held since May 7 when the crewman was killed. The Dutch navy found the body when a warship met the vessel after it cleared the Somali coast.

Another of the eight crew members was wounded, ministry spokesman Marcel Pullen told AFP.

Pullen said the man was killed when the pirates took the vessel on May 7 in the Gulf of Aden. "The crew are all Ukrainian. They are all exhausted," he said.

The MV Marathon was being escorted to a "safe port" by the Dutch frigate De Zeven Provincien, the spokesman said, refusing to reveal the location.

The Dutch news agency, ANP, said a ransom was dropped to the pirates by helicopter. The ship's owners, Amons and Company, declined to comment. The Dutch foreign ministry said that its principle was never to negotiate with pirates or pay ransoms.

The murdered sailor was identified as Serhiy Vartenkov, a welder on the ship.

May God console Mr. Vartenkov's family and bring healing and comfort to the freed crewmembers and their families.

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

France Not Ready for their Burquas

French President Nicholas Sarkozy condemned the wearing of burquas by Muslim women in France as an insult to their dignity and sense of identity, and is considering a nationwide ban on the garment. Via BBC:

In a major policy speech, he said the burka - a garment covering women from head to toe - reduced them to servitude and undermined their dignity.

Mr Sarkozy also gave his backing to the establishment of a parliamentary commission to look at whether to ban the wearing of burkas in public.

In 2004, France banned the Islamic headscarves in its state schools.

'Not welcome'

"We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity," Mr Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles.

"That is not the idea that the French republic has of women's dignity.

"The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic," the French president said.

It is ironic that after years of mocking the French as cheese-eating surrender monkeys, it is the French who are poised to take over the US position as a defender of freedom. It was France who first stood up to the Somali pirates wreaking havoc in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean; it was France, not the US, who came out in support of the brave demonstrators risking their lives for a free Iran; and it is President Sarkozy, not President Obama, who has taken a consistently strong stand for women's rights, refusing to bow to the tyranny of "cultural differences" that enslave women, even those who live in a free country.

Let's hope that Sarkozy's proposal meets with a spirited but civilized debate, unlike the riots which followed the earlier headscarf ban. Congratulations to President Sarkozy for once again demonstrating that Western Civilization is worth defending, not something to be apologized for.

Bodies of Two British Hostages Identified

In a tragic turn of events from Baghdad, two bodies turned over to British authorities Saturday have been identified as men kidnapped in Iraq more than two years ago. Via Times Online:

The remains of two British men kidnapped in Iraq two years ago are "highly likely" to be those of the security guards Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst .

The fate of three other hostages seized at the same time – Peter Moore and two men known only as Alan and Alec – is still unknown.

“It is with deep regret that we have today informed the families of the hostages that, based on very strong indications, the two bodies recovered are highly likely to be those of Jason Creswell, originally from Glasgow, and Jason Swindlehurst, originally from Skelmersdale,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement.

“We continue to do everything we can towards the safe release of the other hostages.”

The kidnappers said last year that one of the Jasons had committed suicide – a claim that was never verified. The announcement that both Jasons were dead came as a surprise to officials and a devastating blow for the families.

It is unclear how the two men, security guards for GardaWorld, a Canadian company, died. Sources said that their bodies were decomposed, indicating that they could have been dead for several months.

This is a particularly cruel blow, as hopes were raised for the release of the group over the past two weeks when the US freed Laith al-Khazali, one of the Shiite insurgents who ambushed and murdered 5 American soldiers at Karbala in January 2007. His release, along with 4 other prisoners, was one of the demands of the Iranian-backed militia which carried out the May 2007 abduction of computer consultant Peter Moore and his four bodyguards.

Our deepest condolences to the families of Mr. Creswell and Mr. Swindlehurst, and our fervent prayers for the protection and rescue of the remaining hostages.

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

Wednesday's Hero 6/17/09

Pvt. William Long
23 years old from Conway, Arkansas
D Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry
June 1, 2009


"My brother taught me valuable lessons and made me the man I am today," said Pfc. Triston Long, brother of Pvt. William Long. "My commander said, 'Make your brother one of us.' I will miss my brother with all that I am, and I serve in honor of him."

Pvt. William Long had just completed basic training and was set to ship out on June 8 to his first duty station in Korea when he and Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula were shot outside a Little Rock, Arkansas Army-Navy Recruiting Center by Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad. They were in Little Rock to speak to with potential recruits about their experiences.

Pvt. Long's father, Daris Long, a former Marine, wrote a letter to give to him when he shipped out for South Korea. In that letter he wrote, "Your day only ends when you�ve done your duty. You and your brother � are both heroes for having the moral courage to stand up when your country needs you most. You are in my hopes and my thoughts and my prayers. You are my son, you are my hero. I love you. Semper fidelis."

Along with his father and brother, Pvt. William Long is survived by his mother, Janet, who had served in the Navy herself.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From RedState, Sipsey Street Irregulars & Army Times with help from Kathi

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Update on Aid Worker Abduction in Yemen

Yesterday we reported that 7 of the 9 foreign aid workers kidnapped in Yemen had been murdered, probably by an Al Qaeda affiliated group. Today, however, British authorities are saying that 3 persons are confirmed dead and that the others are still considered missing. Via Times Online:

A reward of £15,000 has been offered for information leading to the capture of kidnappers who killed three foreign aid workers and are believed to be holding a British engineer and three children in the Yemen.

The bodies of three women, two Germans nurses and a South Korean aid worker, were discovered by shepherds in the mountainous region of the north of the country.

They were part of a group of nine people who had gone for a day out in the Saada province on Friday. Fears are now growing for the remaining six people, a German doctor, his wife and three children and the Briton, who are still missing.

A search has been launched to try to find the group, many of whom worked at a local hospital.

The Yemeni authorities offered a reward of five million rials (£15,000) for the kidnappers’ capture in a broadcast on the state news agency Saba.

A British Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said that it was “deeply concerned” about reports of bodies, said to have been mutilated, being found. Its staff in the area are trying to establish the details surrounding the missing Briton.

Jane Novak of Armies of Liberation has much more information on this abduction, including the identities of the members of the medical mission group:

Source: Yemen Post, I put an asterick next to the three poor souls whose bodies were found stabbed and shot.

The family:
Johannes H. (36)
Sabine H. (36)
their kids Lydia (4), Anna (3) and Simon (1)

The nurses:
Anita G. (24)*
Rita S. (26)*
Anthony S. (british)
Young-Sun Ium (korean)*

She also speculates that the hostages may have been moved to Saudi Arabia through a series of caves used by Al Qaeda for smuggling arms and other supplies.

Please continue to pray for the protection and rescue of these hostages if they are indeed still alive, as we fervently hope they are. More updates as they become available.

Previous:
Aid Workers Kidnapped, Murdered in Yemen

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

Political Pistachio Radio Tonight at 10

I have been invited to discuss my new book, A Pastoral Letter to the Captives and Other Works, with host Douglas Gibbs tonight at 10 pm Eastern time on Political Pistachio Radio. I am looking forward to this and hope you will join us!

Aid Workers Kidnapped, Murdered in Yemen

Terrible news out of Yemen where a group of foreign aid workers was kidnapped over the weekend and have now been found murdered. Via CNN:

(CNN) -- Seven foreign workers seized by militants in Yemen reportedly have been killed, according to the Yemen Post newspaper.

The workers were among a group of nine abducted that included seven Germans, a Briton and a South Korean. Germany's Foreign Ministry said it is in close contact with the German Embassy in Yemen but couldn't confirm any details at this stage.

The German hostages included three children, two nurses, an engineer and his wife, according to Yemen's state-run SABA news agency. All nine hostages worked at a hospital in the volatile Yemeni province of Saada, where they were abducted Sunday.

Yemen's Ministry of Interior told the Yemen Post that the bodies of seven hostages were found Monday in the streets of Shukwan, a neighborhood in Saada, a day after Houthi rebels seized them, the newspaper's editor in chief, Hakim Al-Masmari, told CNN.

More details are available from AFP, including the fact that the group was part of a Baptist mission group working at a hospital in the town of Jebla.

SANAA (AFP) — A British engineer was feared to be among seven foreign hostages, one of them a child, who were found murdered in northern Yemen on Monday, security officials said.

"We have found the corpses of seven people who were kidnapped," a local security official said. "They were killed."

Two of the three children captured with the group were reportedly found alive.

The bodies were found by the son of a tribal leader in Noshour, east of the volatile Saada mountainous area of northern Yemen where the nine were abducted, the official said.

In London, the Foreign Office confirmed it was looking into reports a Briton was among the victims.

The Yemeni authorities had accused Shiite Zaidi rebels in Saada of seizing seven Germans, a British engineer and a South Korean woman teacher. The rebels denied the charge.

The nine -- among them three German children and two women nurses -- belong to an international relief group that has been working at a hospital in Saada province bordering Saudi Arabia for 35 years, a local official said on Sunday.

Yemeni authorities are blaming Houthi rebels for the kidnappings and murders, but Yemen expert Jane Novak says this is doubtful and that al Wahishi (Al Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula) is more likely to be responsible (via The Jawa Report):

The rebels say it occurred next the headquarters of the Political Security (the secret police) in central Sa'ada. However like every other group in Yemen, when news hits the western media, the rebels were unable to put out a statement in English. Ergo, yet more bad google translation:

Houthi deny that any of the sons of Saada relationship is responsible for the kidnapping of German. Power is the power (the government) bears full responsibility for their fate. The area where it was said that they had kidnapped them (Graz) is next to the Political Security in the heart of the city of Saada. We emphasize that the charge for us is null and false accusation and slander is a matter of political vindictiveness, which is evidence of the bankruptcy (of the regime).

Of course the Reuters report is by Mohammed Saddam, Yemeni President Saleh's personal translator, and the report that Shiite rebels kidnapped them came from the military. The Saada War has raged since 2004. The rebels have never kidnapped anyone or targeted civilians in that time (unlike the Yemeni government which bombed the hell out of quite a few cities and kidnapped hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians including children.)

Beside government kidnapping, tribal kidnapping is also common in Yemen, usually the demand is the release of relatives held as hostages by the government. And normally when tribesmen kidnap foreigners, they call it in, the hostages call home, everybody drinks tea and waits. No one gets hurt, and sooner or later, the tribal relatives are freed and so are the western hostages.

A terrible situation all around. Our deepest condolences to the families of the murdered aid workers who sacrificed not only their time and effort but their very lives out of love for their fellow man. Prayers that the guilty will be brought to justice and that this will not be used as an excuse to persecute the innocent.

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

Matthew Maguire Freed in Nigeria

Robin Hughes (left) and Matthew Maguire (right)

British oil worker Matthew Maguire, kidnapped in Nigeria more than nine months ago, was finally released by his captors Friday. The MEND rebels who abducted him along with 27 other oil workers in September 2008 had originally promised to free him on his birthday, June 1, later reneged on that agreement, claiming he chose to stay behind as "an advocate for change." Via The Guardian:

Gordon Brown yesterday officially confirmed the safe release of a British oil worker held hostage in Nigeria for over nine months.

Matthew Maguire, 35, from Birkenhead in Merseyside, was among 27 oil workers taken hostage by militants in the Niger Delta area in September 2008.

The group behind the kidnapping, The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), had demanded the release of their leader, Henry Okah, in exchange for the hostages. Okah is currently being held by the Nigerian government on arms trafficking charges.

The group announced Maguire's release through an email, saying he had been handed over to Nigerian officials.

In a statement the prime minister said: "I am pleased to confirm the safe release of Matthew Maguire ... This news comes a great relief to all concerned, and I am glad that, for Mr Maguire and his family and friends, this ordeal is over. I should like to thank all those who have worked so hard on this case. We remain in close contact with the family and I urge the media to respect their privacy at this time."

Ironically, Mr. Maguire had indeed refused to be released earlier this year, but it was to save the life of fellow hostage Robin Hughes, who was dangerously ill and was not likely to survive further captivity. Via The Echo:

Despite missing his family and surviving on little food Mr Maguire begged his captors to free the boat’s ailing captain Robin Hughes, 60, from Dover in Kent.

Mr Hughes had a severe infection in his right foot and ongoing circulation problems.

Mr Maguire, from Birkenhead, feared he may die if he were not freed.

The ex-West Derby comprehensive pupil told press in Nigeria – where he is awaiting a flight home – how he begged the militants to free Mr Hughes who was released in April.

He said: “I was really worried about the captain. He wasn’t well. He wasn’t breathing right. I told the militants if they didn’t release him he would die.

“They didn’t want to release him but the villagers helped as well – they put pressure on the militants saying ‘he needs to go to hospital’ and we got them to release him.”

Mr Hughes’ brother Simon, 48, said his brother was now recovering with his family in Brazil.

He said: “It was such a relief to us Mr Maguire was there and could see how bad he was. The doctors managed to cut out the infection which made all his leg swell. But if it had been left things could have got very bad.

“We’re all just so pleased Mr Maguire is out now. Because it was awful to think Robin was safe and being treated and he was still there.

“We just want to thank him for everything he did.”

Thank God for this answer to prayer, and for this example of selfless sacrifice. May God continue to bless Mr. Maguire and Mr. Hughes and their families.

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

President Ronald Reagan's Speech at Point-du-Hoc

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the passing of one of our greatest presidents, Ronald Reagan, and this beautiful video of one of his most moving speeches is a fitting tribute, both to a great man and to the great men who fought on D-Day 65 years ago tomorrow. Those brave men helped save Western Civilization from the curses of Nazism and Fascism; President Reagan later led the efforts to free the world from the tyranny of Communism. May God continue to bless our nation and make us worthy of the sacrifice of so many of its best lives.

Trial Begins for 2 American Journalists in N. Korea

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, American reporters for Current TV, go on trial today for allegedly entering into North Korean territory with hostile intent, and could face up to 10 years of hard labor if they are convicted. Via CNN:

(CNN) -- Two U.S. journalists detained in North Korea were to go on trial Thursday, North Korean state media said.
Euna Lee has been in North Korean custody since March, when she and another reporter were detained.

The journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were reporting on the plight of North Korean defectors living along the China-North Korea border when they were taken into custody on March 17.

Ling and Lee are reporters for California-based Current TV, a media venture of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

North Korea has charged the reporters with illegal entry into the country and hostile acts.

The trial was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Thursday, (2 a.m. ET), according to the state-run news agency KCNA.

Analysts have said that the trial could be very short and that sentences could be delivered Thursday.

The women could face years in labor camps if convicted.

The US has maintained that the two women were on the Chinese side of the border and were dragged across by North Korean border guards.

Please continue to pray for their safety and for the success of diplomatic efforts underway to gain their release.

Previous:
American Journalists Being Interrogated for Espionage
Kidnapped American Journalists Being Interrogated in N. Korea
American Journalists Held by North Korea

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages

British Hostage Murdered by Al Qaeda

Tragic news out of Mali, where Al Qaeda claims it has killed Edwin Dyer in retaliation for Britain's refusal to release convicted terrorist Abu Qatada. Via The New York Times:

LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that there was “strong reason to believe” that a Briton taken hostage by an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in the African state of Mali had been executed. He called the killing “barbaric.”

The Briton, identified as Edwin Dyer, was taken hostage in January along with a Swiss citizen and two other tourists in Niger, close to the border with Mali, but was held in Mali.

The group, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, had demanded the release of Abu Qatada, a Jordanian-born Palestinian cleric held in Britain whom a Spanish judge has called the leading Al Qaeda lieutenant in Europe. Britain has said he is a “significant international terrorist” but he has denied belonging to Al Qaeda.

News reports said the group had announced on a Web site that it killed the Briton on May 31 after its second deadline for its demands to be met expired.

“This tragedy reinforces our commitment to confront terrorism,” Mr. Brown said in a statement. “It strengthens our determination never to concede to the demands of terrorists, nor to pay ransoms.”

“I want those who would use terror against British citizens to know beyond doubt that we and our allies will pursue them relentlessly, and that they will meet the justice they deserve.”

Mr. Dyer was kidnapped along with three other tourists, Marianne Petzold of Germany, and Werner and Gabriella Burco-Greiner of Switzerland, in Niger on January 22, 2009, along the border with Mali. They were held by the group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which was also responsible for the recent abductions of Canadian diplomats Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, and for the 2008 kidnapping of Austrian tourists Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber. Ms. Petzold and Ms. Burco-Greiner were released along with Mr. Fowler and Mr. Guay in April. Mr. Greiner is still being held captive.

May God comfort the family and friends of Mr. Dyer for their terrible loss and may his murderers be brought to justice soon.

Crossposted at Pray for the Hostages