Article

2004-10-02 Britain

Curious Hostage brother's 'home searched.'

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Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-02 4:59:29 AM|| || Front Page|| [11134 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 The Telegraph seems to have more detail:

"Dutch intelligence officers raided the home of Kenneth Bigley's brother last night. An intelligence officer from the Foreign Office is understood to have accompanied them to Paul Bigley's home in Amsterdam. The raid came amid claims that the British hostage was free to roam his kidnappers' home in Iraq and was "caged" only for terrorist videos. Paul Bigley's computer was seized and he was interrogated about his alleged contact with the Tawhid and Jihad group, which yesterday claimed responsibility for Thursday's killing of at least 35 children in Baghdad. Material from his computer was downloaded and sent back for analysis in Britain as he was forced to make a five-page statement. Mr Bigley has been an outspoken critic of the Government's handling of his brother's case and has established his own contacts in the Middle East but denies being in direct contact with the kidnappers.

In Fallujah, Mohammed Kasim, an Iraqi-born gunman with a British passport, said the latest video of Mr Bigley showing him shackled in a cage had been staged to "terrify" the British public. There was no way of verifying the claim, particularly in a country awash with rumour and conspiracy theories. The Bigley family will take renewed hope from the account offered by Kasim. "If they wanted to kill him they would have done this immediately after they kidnapped him," said Kasim. "Instead they want to use him to press on the British kingdom." Kasim, 35, is one of two Britons believed to have joined the "resistance" in Fallujah, a stronghold of armed opposition to the US-led presence in Iraq. An Iraqi translator met him in a coffee shop close to Hamid al-Hamoud mosque. Kasim spoke fluent English, but refused to show his passport. He also declined to provide any details of where he lived in London, saying: "I want to keep my family safe." He said he spent the mornings translating websites of foreign newspapers on behalf of the "resistance" and the afternoons manning checkpoints on the main street. Kasim said he did not belong to Zarqawi's group, Tawhid and Jihad. But the resistance, organised under an 11-member "Mujahideen Shura council", has close ties with Zarqawi and is believed to be protecting him in Fallujah.

Kasim claimed he heard news of Mr Bigley "every day". He said the cage and chains were set up only for the video recording. "They made this video for two reasons. They wanted to scare Tony Blair. They also wanted revenge for Saddam Hussein for the way in which he was displayed by the US military after his capture." According to his account, Kassim was born in Fallujah and is a member of the dominant Dulaimy tribe. He moved to Britain 12 years ago to study at a university, and says he married an Englishwoman who converted to Islam and bore him two children. Kasim said he returned to Fallujah six months ago and said he had taken part in a raid on a US convoy. "I am born in Iraq and I should fight with my tribe. I cannot see my town under siege and destroyed so I came from the UK to Iraq to fight. I was crying every night when I saw the news. I will go back to my family when the occupation ends and Iraq gets its freedom."

We'll keep a cell free for you.

Posted by Bulldog 2004-10-02 9:11:01 AM|| 2004-10-02 9:11:01 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Whoa, mackrel in the moonlight time.

Posted by Shipman 2004-10-02 9:59:12 AM|| 2004-10-02 9:59:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 I guess that bolsters my little theory about the Italian wimminses kidnapping being a staged event.

Posted by badanov 2004-10-02 10:03:24 AM|| [http://www.rkka.org] 2004-10-02 10:03:24 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 He said he spent the mornings translating websites of foreign newspapers on behalf of the "resistance"..

I wonder if he does warblogs too?

Posted by Classical_Liberal 2004-10-02 10:43:58 AM|| 2004-10-02 10:43:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 This doesn't make sense. If he's part of the peace d'resistance, why is he revealing that Bigley is cooperating in the videos and roaming freely through the house?

Something is very wrong here.

Posted by 2b 2004-10-02 2:46:31 PM|| 2004-10-02 2:46:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 "Something is very wrong here."

No matter what else is wrong, that his two American "friends" were BEHEADED tops my personal hit parade.

Posted by .com 2004-10-02 2:52:08 PM|| 2004-10-02 2:52:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 This doesn't make sense. If he's part of the peace d'resistance, why is he revealing that Bigley is cooperating in the videos and roaming freely through the house?

a) his family's already been located and he knows he's a marked man if he ever tries to leave the shitehole he now lives in;

b) he's a stupid interloper who came back to Iraq mainly for kicks, not for jihad

Posted by lex 2004-10-02 3:08:30 PM|| 2004-10-02 3:08:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 also, perhaps I'm being a nasty insensitive brute here but I find it very strange that a British male with the requisite amount of red blood cells would be blubbering and wimpering as Bigley has done.

Not every man's a hero, I know, but has there been a single hostage yet who has behaved in such a downright cowardly fashion?

Something stinks here.

Posted by lex 2004-10-02 11:52:30 PM|| 2004-10-02 11:52:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Is there a George Galloway connection, perhaps?

Posted by lex 2004-10-02 11:56:26 PM|| 2004-10-02 11:56:26 PM|| Front Page Top

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02:55 Bryan
00:26 Bryan
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23:25 True German Ally
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