Image of Briton Norman Kember from the hostage video
Image of Thomas Fox, an American from Virginia, from the hostage video.
Image of Canadian Harmeet Singh Sooden--a resident of New Zealand. Image of James Loney, of Canada.November 26, 2005
Four Christian Peacemaker Team mebers two Canadians,an American and one British on an aid mission in Baghdad are taken at gunpoint on Saturday.
November 28, 2005
A video showing the four men sitting on the ground, and the passport belonging to one of them is aired on Iraqi News Station Al-Jazeera. A time stamp indicates the video was recorded on Nov. 27.
November 29, 2005
The hostages are identified as Harmeet Singh Sooden, a 32-year-old Canadian, 41-year-old James Loney of Toronto, Norman Kember, 74, from London, England and Tom Fox, 54, from the United States.
The four are members of Christian Peacemaker Teams, a small, international group which aims to reduce worldwide violence.
The organization has denied claims by the kidnappers, a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, that the four were spies working in Iraq. "All of us are praying that they will be merciful and these people will be released," said Doug Pritchard of the Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin issues a statement saying that Foreign Affairs is in contact with the families of the hostages and is working on their behalf.
"I want you to know that there is no more urgent issue than ensuring the safety of our citizens," said Martin.
In a statement released Tuesday, Christian Peacemakers Teams said it was outraged that the four pacifists, including a pair of Canadians, are now suffering for a war they didn't create.
"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," the Toronto- and Chicago-based organization wrote in the statement posted online.
December 1, 2005
In what Prime Minister Paul Martin called "a callous act of terror" a shadowy group holding two Canadian peace activists hostage threatened Friday to kill them and two other Christian aid workers if its demands for the release of detainees weren't met.
The unknown kidnappers set a deadline of Thursday December 8, for authorities to meet their demand for all prisoners in U.S. and Iraqi detention centres to be released, according to Al-Jazeera news channel, which quoted a statement delivered with videotape it aired.
December 2,2005
In an interview from Baghdad, a colleague of the two members of Christian Peacemaker Teams taken hostage on Saturday said there had been no contact from the kidnappers.
"It's still more hurry up and wait," Greg Rollins said.
"We've been getting friends to release statements in hopes they (the kidnappers) will step forward and say something or do something, but there's been nothing."
Palestinian activists have added their voices to those concerned about the four members from the Christian Peacemaker Teams - including two Canadians - kidnapped in Iraq on Sunday.
The Palestinians gathered in Ramallah's main square Thursday, where they called on the militants in Iraq to release the four men.
"Your brothers in Palestine ask the Iraqi fighters in Fallujah, who are defending their country from their enemies the Americans, to release our international brothers, who have helped us in our struggle for freedom here," said Basel Masour.
December 5
Family and friends of the four hostages held in Iraq publicly plead for the release of their loved ones.
"Harmeet … is a peace loving man," said Manjeet Kaur Sooden, whose son, Harmeet Sing Sooden, is among the four hostages. "He went to Iraq to do good. I pray those who are holding Harmeet will look into their hearts [and] see the good that is in my son."
Loney's family also spoke to his captors and pleaded for his release.
"Please release him," said his mother, Claudette Loney. "We miss him. We love him. And we want him home."
"We want him to be able to continue the work that is just so important to him with the Iraqi people," said Loney's sister, Kathleen Weir.
Tom Fox is said to have prepared his family in case he was taken hostage, something many aid workers going over to Iraq feel the need to do. The family is reluctant to speak out because they fear it will harm Fox and his co-workers.
"A number of Christian peacekeeper teams actually have prepared statements of conscience in case something should happen," Rose said. "Tom's team was developed with co-workers knowing the prevalence of threat. … They wanted to make sure that everyone knew they did not want military or a forceful group to rescue them."
The first recent American hostage to receive considerable media attention was Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped in Pakistan and beheaded.
Later, Nicholas Berg, American businessman kidnapped in Iraq, befell the same fate.
Military and civilians from Bulgaria, South Korea and Italy have been captured and beheaded in Iraq. Beheading has become a preferred tactic of terror for insurgent groups and al Qaeda.
Even still, Christian Peacemaker Teams refused armed protection in Iraq.
"We don't use guns, we are non-violent," Rose said. "What kind of integrity would a non-violent group have if they were guarded by men with guns? To be honest, members of our group often act as non-violent guards and in Palestine. Tom was escorting Palestinian farmers to work through border points."
December 6
A new videotape posted on the internet shows four Western hostages in Iraq, including two Canadians, as they make assurances that they are being treated well.
The tape shows the Canadians unshackled while the other two hostages – an American and a Briton – are handcuffed.
"We are being treated well. We are both well. All of us are well," Torontonian Jim Loney says on the tape.
"We're being treated well. We are sleeping OK. We'd like to thank the people holding us for that," adds Harmeet Sooden, formerly of Montreal.
It was not clear whether the men were speaking of their own volition. Neither is it clear when the tape was made, although the images are dated Dec. 2
December 7
The Iraqi group holding hostage four Christian peace activists, including two Canadians, extended their deadline for execution until Saturday, al-Jazeera repots.
Meanwhile, the family of one of the kidnapped Canadian men in Iraq continued to hold out hope for his release Wednesday as a deadline looms to execute him and three other hostages.
Speaking from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Loney's family thanked all those working to free him, and expressed hope of seeing that happen soon.
"We want James home," said his brother Matthew Loney. "We want the other members home. And we want a peaceful resolution to how things are going over there," he said.
Matthew Loney also referred to a video that was released of the hostages saying, "We are grateful that Jim appeared well cared for in the last tape and we pray that will continue."
Loney's brother Ed appeared to fight back tears as he said, "At this time we would like to express our compassion and support for all families facing similar circumstances."
Editorial, by me.
Experts speculate the extention of the deadline and the unshackling of the Canadians are part of the mind games the Iraqi captors are playing. The assumption is that the message the captors wish to convey is "if you don't wish to paticipate with countries that we feel are trying to supress us (ie America and Britain) than you will be treated fairly, if you do then you will meet the same fate as they will." Hense the shackled and blindfolded American and British Aid Worker.
Neither the Canadian government nor military has never taken a proactive stance in this latest US and British led campaign to rid Iraq of the perceived terrorist threat, they have though been open supporters of their effors. Hopefully, after the election in January, the next Canadian government will wake up and provide better defense our peace keepers and aid workers.
December 9
Family and supporters around the world spent Friday in growing trepidation as a grim deadline set by kidnappers holding four Christian peace activists in Iraq loomed.
The still mysterious group of kidnappers threatened to kill the two Canadians and their fellow hostages unless the Americans released thousands of prisoners in Iraq by Saturday - International Human Rights Day.
"I really can't imagine anything worse than the scenario that myself and my family are going through right now," Ed Loney, brother of Canadian hostage Jim Loney told the Canadian Press.
Sunni clerics in Iraq issued a plea on Friday for the freedom of four Western hostages, including two Canadians.
At the Abu Hanifa Mosque in a Baghdad, Sunni cleric Imam Ahmed Taha devoted part of Friday prayers to the hostages. Speaking in Arabic he said, "We ask those who have the authority and the power to do their best to release the people who work for a Christian peace organization," he said. "They were the first who condemned the war on Iraq."
December 10
Loney's family waited in his parents' home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., his brothers Ed and Matthew spoke about the ordeal with CBC News.
"The whole thing is just one really gut-wrenching experience after another," Ed Loney said.
"You don't know what's going to happen and you can't get caught up in those little deadlines or those little apparently meaningful things. It's all meaningful at this point."
He said his parents, who are in their 70s, have suffered most.
"They don't need the added stress and the pressure to complicate their lives. We're a bit younger, we can deal with that a bit better – but to imagine it going on for weeks and months would be terrible."
Loney's brothers said that, in scouring the media for news, they've discovered his fight against rights violations in Iraq and Palestine touched more lives than they ever imagined.
"We know what he was like within our family," said Matthew Loney. "But we didn't know as much, nearly as much, as we could have known about his work."
He said the irony was that the peace activists' goals weren't that different from those of their captors, who are demanding that U.S. and British military authorities free all prisoners being held in Iraq.
"Anything that happens to them negatively will impact the work that can be done for human rights in Iraq and around the world, and in the Middle East."
December 12
The tense waiting continued Monday with still no word of any kind on the fate of four Western hostages, including two Canadians, being held in Iraq.
December 13
The Swords of Righteousness Brigades, the group holding four western peace activists hostage in Iraq has ties to the Islamic Army, which has in the past killed several hostages, according to a Canadian newspaper. The National Post reported Tuesday that the previously unknown hostage-takers had uploaded at least two videotaped statements onto a hidden directory of an Islamic Army website that is only accessible to those in contact with the site's administrator.
"I would say that there is a strong connection between the hostage-takers and the Islamic Army," said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, a US organization that monitors Jihadist activities and made the link. Katz said she had alerted US officials.
The Islamic Army killed Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni in 2004, and a statement from the group last week claimed American contractor Ronald Allen Schulz has been executed, but Washington officials could not confirm his death.
The group was also behind the kidnapping of French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, who were freed at the end of 2004 after being held captive for four months.
December 15
A colleague of four Western hostages in Iraq told CBC News on Thursday that concerted efforts are continuing to try to reach the captors and get the four men set free.
"We're thinking that no news is good news, that maybe they're trying to figure out what their next move should be," Greg Rollins of Surrey, B.C., told CBC News on Thursday
December 24
Families of Iraq hostages advertise for help
CTV.ca
The faces of four captive Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) members appeared on the front pages of Baghdad newspapers Saturday, along with new appeals for their safe release.
Family members have placed the ads and they are planning another appeal on Iraqi radio for Dec. 26.
The messages say that Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, Briton Norman Kember and American Tom Fox are men of peace who want to help Iraq.
The ads also say: "Many clerics and religious figures from the Arab and Muslim world have spoken of the good work the men were doing."
A phone number is offered for anonymous callers to give "any information that can help."
Many people in Baghdad want to see the captives released.
"At the end of the day, we are trying to live in peace," one Iraqi told CTV News. "This is our chance to prove to the world we are a peaceful people."
Back in Canada, vigils continue to be held by friends and supporters.
In Toronto on Saturday, people gathered to sing, pray and hope for the hostages' safe return.
Meanwhile, worried family members say they will try to celebrate Christmas.
"There's only one thing that would satisfy our entire family and that's to have this thing over with," Matthew Loney, the brother of captive Jim Loney told CTV News on Friday.
The Loney family says a place will be set at the Christmas dinner table for James.
His brother Ed says the family will try to have a normal holiday celebration in their Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. home.
"Just do our typical thing, you know," Loney said. "Have dinner and share the day with my sister's family … and keep it really simple, but still keep Jim in mind."
Sooden's brother-in-law Mark Brewer says his family continues to regard the lack of news about the hostages as a positive sign.
January 29. 2006
One of four kidnapped Christian peace activist Canadian, James Loney, of Toronto is seen in this image aired by Al Jazeera TV on Saturday. (AP)
Vigils struck for hostages in Iraq
Canadian Press and Associated Press
Baghdad — As they anxiously wait and hope for good news from Iraq, relatives of a Canadian hostage say they are thankful for the overwhelming support they've received over the last two months.
Matt Loney, brother of Canadian hostage James Loney, said he has been touched by events like Sunday's marches in Toronto and Vancouver, and the continued outpouring of support for his family.
The demonstrations were organized by the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Four of the group's members, including James Loney, were kidnapped Nov. 26 in Baghdad.
"As shocking as the original news of the kidnapping was, we've been even more overwhelmed as a family by the support we've been getting; and that's been locally and internationally," Mr. Loney said.
Sunday's events were planned weeks ago and followed by a day the release of a 55-second video showing Canadian hostages Mr. Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, along with an American and a British co-worker.
The tape, time stamped Jan. 21, was shown Saturday on the Arab all-news network al-Jazeera, seven weeks after the captors — the previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigades — made their last set of demands and the passing of a deadline that was met with silence.
The video — which is grey and apparently shot using the camera's night-vision function — shows the four men standing near a wall, then cuts to another shot in which the men are seated and talking but their voices are not heard.
At one point, Mr. Loney is seen close-up wearing a tuque and speaking into the camera, and he looked relatively fine, said the CPT's William Payne, a friend of Mr. Loney's.
"My immediate reaction was he looked well considering the circumstances and I was really happy," Mr. Payne said Saturday. "He seemed himself from his facial expressions."
The Loney family awoke to the news of the videotape Saturday morning and said they were encouraged to see James is still alive.
His brother Matt in Vancouver first heard about the video early Saturday and said that while it was good to see his brother, it still wasn't the best of news.
"It's a good and bad scenario. We know that he's alive and the others are alive as well, and we take great solace in that fact," he said.
"But the fact remains that this is still a delicate situation."
Mr. Loney's mother was happy to see her son again, even under the difficult circumstances, said the CPT's Rebecca Johnson.
"Mrs. Loney was also relieved to see her son is alive and happy to see that, that was one of the first things she said," according to Ms. Johnson.
"(The family) is hoping for the best and for his release, of course."
The Swords of Righteousness Brigades called the brief tape a "last chance" for the hostages. They demanded the release of all Iraqi prisoners "otherwise their fate will be death."
No deadline was set.
Government spokesman Dan McTeague said Saturday that freeing the hostages — Mr. Loney, 41, of Toronto; Mr. Sooden, 32, a former Montreal resident; Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., and Norman Kember, 74, of London — remains a priority.
"All the resources of the government of Canada have been co-ordinated to communicate and listen to and receive any info that would help us see the safe release of these hostages," Mr. McTeague said.
Christian Peacemaker Teams has been working in Iraq since October 2002, investigating allegations of abuse against Iraqi detainees by American and Iraqi forces. Its teams host human rights conferences in conflict zones, promoting peaceful solutions.
Humanitarian workers had been warned repeatedly by Iraqi and western security officials that they were taking a grave risk if they moved around Baghdad without bodyguards.
More than 250 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and at least 39 have been killed.
Al-Jazeera editor Saad al-Dosari declined to say how the station obtained the tape but that all of the footage was aired.
Mon, 20 Feb 2006
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay 'very optimistic' about release of Canadian hostages in Iraq
Canada's new foreign affairs minister says he believes the two Canadians, and two other Westerners taken hostage in Iraq, are still "very much" alive.
"The most up-to-date information that we have leads us to believe that there will be -- and we remain very optimistic -- a safe release of these individuals," Peter MacKay said in an interview with Canadian Press.
On Monday, MacKay told CP the government is "pursuing all means, with our allies, to be helpful and supportive to ensure their safe return and release."
"The most recent information leads us to believe they have, on a number of occasions, been moved from one location to another."
"We remain very optimistic about their well-being," MacKay said.
Image of Briton Norman Kember from the hostage video
Image of Canadian Harmeet Singh Sooden--a resident of New Zealand. Image of James Loney, of Canada.
One of four kidnapped Christian peace activist Canadian, James Loney, of Toronto is seen in this image aired by Al Jazeera TV on Saturday. (AP)
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay 'very optimistic' about release of Canadian hostages in Iraq
