Baghdad, Iraq – Iraqi and British officials said Sunday they had no word on the fate of four Christian peace activists, more than a day after the expiration of a deadline set by kidnappers to kill them if all prisoners weren’t released.
Interior Minister Bayan Jabr and British Defense Secretary John Reid said separately that their governments had no information about the hostages – who include an American, a Briton and two Canadians.
“We have no information,” Jabr told The Associated Press in Baghdad when asked about the hostages. “From the beginning, I advised foreigners not to move freely.”
The little-known Swords of Righteousness Brigade, which kidnapped the activists two weeks ago, said the hostages would be killed by Saturday unless all prisoners were freed. The group originally set last Thursday as a deadline but extended that date. Three additional foreigners have been kidnapped.
“They are all people who came to serve us, to serve our people. This is a humanitarian matter, and they were subjected to the ugliest type of blackmail,” Jabr said.
The four captive members of Christian Peacemaker Teams are Norman Kember, 74, of London; Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va.; and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32. Christian Peacemaker Teams has been working in Iraq since October 2002, investigating allegations of abuse against Iraqi detainees and promoting peace.
