Mali - Entführung in Timbuktu 25.11.2011 (NL, ZA, DE †)

[Alexander]

Auch der Holländer ist nun frei. Am Montag wurde die Geisel nach dreieinhalb Jahren al Kaida Gefangenschaft von einer französischen Spezialeinheit befreit. Bei dem Schußwechsel starben zwei Terroristen und zwei weitere wurden gefangen genommen. Daraus kann geschlossen werden, dass kein Lösegeld gezahlt wurde.

Willkommen zurück in der Freiheit.

Grüsse
Alexander

[markus-1969]

ich hab mal den Thread gelesen aber nicht wirklich Antworten gefunden auf die folgenden Fragen:

1) wann verstarb die Deutsche Geisel ?

2) welche Folgerungen sind aus der Geiselnahme zu ziehen ?

[Alexander]

ich hab mal den Thread gelesen aber nicht wirklich Antworten gefunden auf die folgenden Fragen:

1) wann verstarb die Deutsche Geisel ?

2) welche Folgerungen sind aus der Geiselnahme zu ziehen ?

Einfach die Suchfunktion bemühen. Ist ganz einfach.

mali-entfuhrung-in-timbuktu-25-11-2011- ... er#p121778

[Birgitt]

A private Mauritanian news agency said on Monday that it had obtained a video showing a South African and a Swede who were kidnapped in Mali in 2011 and are being held by Al-Qaeda. The video obtained by the Sahara Medias Website appears to show Stephen Malcolm McGown, from South Africa, and Swedish citizen Johan Gustafson in good health, a website employee told AFP. The two men are bearded and are seen wearing traditional robes, sitting under a tree, the employee said, adding that it was not known when the video was shot. McGown and Gustafson were abducted in the city of Timbuktu in northern Mali in November 2011 and have since been held by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) ...

SA hostage seen on Qaeda Video
22.06.2015 - news24

Deux otages d’AQMI implorent leur gouvernement à œuvrer pour leur libération
22.06.2015 - Sahara Media



Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

The Department of International Relations and Co-operation said the government would not comment on a hostage situation [...] The nearly 19-minute video - titled “A trip to interview two prisoners” - could not be independently verified by Reuters, although it bore the stamp of al-Andalus, which claims to be the media arm of al-Qaeda in north Africa (Aqim). It was posted on YouTube and on a Mauritanian website called Sahara Medias, which has a history of releasing statements by Islamist groups. The opening sequence shows a group of armed men in the desert and is narrated by a masked man speaking fluent English. The film then cuts to a forest scene where the two hostages, dressed in robes, are led beneath a tree and interviewed as their captors look on ...

Mali hostage video: SA cautious
23.06.2015 - iol

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

Al-Qaeda have unveiled new British jihadist video "front man", who interrogates two western hostages in the Sahara desert in an apparent appeal for a prisoner exchange. The masked interrogator speaks fluent English with a clear British accent - even though French-speaking West and North West Africa have not attracted many British jihadist volunteers. In style and dress he is clearly modelling himself on “Jihadi John”, the notorious British Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant executioner. He wears a balaclava and fatigues and addresses the camera directly, with a similarly posed stare and use of aggressive, melodramatic phrases. “Welcome - to the world’s largest prison,” he says at the beginning. “A prison that has no boundaries, a prison that has no walls, no cells, no bars. A prison with a fear, where prison break is non-existent. This is the mujahideen’s prison, the Sahara.” ...

New British 'front man' for jihadist videos revealed
23.06.2015 - telegraph




Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

Die Entführung ist heute auf den Tag genau 4 Jahre her.
Und endlich kommt wieder Bewegung in die Sache und es gibt wieder Neuigkeiten:

The Gift of the Givers Foundation said it had made contact with the al-Qaeda militants in Mali who kidnapped Stephen McGowan and the Swede, Johan Gustafsson, from Timbuktu four years ago. On Wednesday morning the foundation’s chairman, Imtiaz Sooliman, said he had spoken to the negotiator in Mali at 4am on Wednesday who said he expected to receive a call connecting him with the captors at 1pm that day. McGowan’s dad, Malcolm, said the family was “over the moon” at the breakthrough. The humanitarian organisation said Wednesday also marked four years since the men were taken.

Hope for SA Mali hostage
25.11.2015 - iol

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

The Pietermaritzburg-based Gift of the Givers Foundation has received several phone calls in the past 24 hours from the al-Qaeda militants in Mali who are holding South African, Stephen McGowan, and Swede, Johan Gustafsson, whom they kidnapped four years ago. The foundation’s chairman, Imtiaz Sooliman, said on Thursday that one of his men on the ground – who had boarded an emergency flight to Mali earlier this week – had spoken to a person who had seen a video from McGowan and Gustafsson’s captors, and that they were hopeful that they would get a copy of it on Thursday.

Mali captors in contact with SA
26.11.2015 - iol

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

The Gift of the Givers has described a new video of two hostages being held in Mali, including South African Stephen McGown, as "absolutely credible and realistic" [...] It finally happened at 13:00 on 1 December 2015, where we received two videos, one for each hostage. "The video is self explanatory. Date of production is mentioned as 20 October. Given our interactions over the last few weeks and the content of the video that date is absolutely credible and realistic. "The most heartening aspect of the video is the fact that the captives are now aware that negotiations are underway for their release which would certainly instil a great deal of hope and positivity in them."

New video emerges of South African held hostage in Mali
02.12.2015 - news24

I hope to be home soon - SA hostage in Mali
02.12.2015 - news24





Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

A critical meeting between Gift of the Givers and a contact passing messages to those holding South African, Stephen McGown, and Swede, Johan Gustafson, in Mali took place on Monday night. The foundation’s chairman, Imtiaz Sooliman, said on Tuesday that the meeting was brief but it was hoped another meeting would follow in the coming days. [...] On Monday, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that a new video released on a Mauritanian website, Al Akhbar, apparently by a group affiliated to al-Qaeda, said the South African and Swedish governments would have to meet the captors’ demands before the men were released. Sooliman said he had seen the video, but it appeared to have been removed from the internet. He said it was very different to a proof-of-life video released last month, in that its emphasis was on the captors and not the captives. Sooliman said the message was clear: the militants did not want the French involved and the hostages would not be released as a result of hostile action, only through negotiations. [...] The masked man said their demands “remained the same as those issued in 2012”, without giving an indication on the nature of the demands. He revealed the video had been recorded on December 17.

SA NGO meets Mali hostage middle man
12.01.2016 - iol


Es könnte sich um dieses Video handeln (danke Alexander für die Videorecherche !):



Quelle Jihadology 09.01.2016 / https://videopress.com/v/51Fo3pnw

Gruß
Birgitt

[Alexander]

Seit fünf Jahren befindet sich der Südafrikaner in der Gewalt von AQIM. Es wird immer noch verhandelt und man hofft, dass die Geisel bis Weihnachten frei sein wird.

Gift of the Givers says negotiations are continuing in an effort to have two hostages being held in Mali, including South African Stephen McGown, freed after five years of captivity.

"We pray that by this Christmas we succeed in securing an unconditional release as we have run out of options," the organisation said in a statement on Wednesday.

news 24: Five years on: Negotiations continue for SA hostage in Mali

Grüsse
Alexander

[Alexander]

Fast sechs Jahre nach seiner Entführung durch AQIM wurde der Schwede Johan Gustafsson freigelassen. Über die Hintergründe der Freilassung wurde nichts berichtet.

A Swede held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali since 2011 has been freed to head home, and is doing well although he is "overwhelmed" by his release, Sweden's foreign ministry said Monday.

"It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Johan Gustafsson has been released and can return to Sweden," Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement, giving no details about how his release was secured.

BBC: Al-Qaeda: Kidnapped Swede Johan Gustafsson freed after six years

Grüsse
Alexander

[Birgitt]

Nach der Freilassung von Johan Gustafsson spekulieren schwedische Medien über Lösegeldzahlungen ...

Was die Islamisten für das Leben von Gustafsson und seines Kollegen genau verlangten, ist unklar. Aber es dürfte um Geld gegangen sein. Jedenfalls soll die südafrikanische Hilfsorganisation Gift of the Givers mit den Kidnappern verhandelt haben, wie die schwedische Boulevardzeitung «Aftonbladet» berichtet. Dabei habe man die Lösegeldsumme von umgerechnet 22 Millionen Franken auf knapp 9 Millionen heruntergehandelt – ein Betrag, den eine Durchschnittsfamilie nicht einfach so bezahlen kann. «Wir haben versucht, ihn während zweier Jahre freizubekommen, aber wenn man das Geld nicht hat, kann man ihn nicht freibekommen. Regierungen können indirekt mit Geiselnehmern verhandeln, aber ich weiss nicht, wie es in diesem Fall zugegangen ist», sagte Imtiaz Sooliman, der Gründer von Gift of the Givers, zu «Aftonbladet».

Zahlte Schweden für die Freilassung einer Al-Qaida-Geisel?
28.06.2017 - tagesanzeiger

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

Diese Woche gab es ein neues Lebenszeichen der südafrikanischen Geisel Stephan McGowan ...

Stephen McGowan, the South African held hostage by al-Qaeda’s Mali branch for over five years, has appealed again for his freedom in a new proof of life video released by his captors this weekend. Stephen McGowan’s fate has been a matter of anxious speculation since last week when a Swede, Johan Gustafsson, who had been held in captivity with him, was released. Imtiaz Sooliman, head of Gift of the Givers charity organisation based in Johannesburg, which is negotiating for his release, said on Sunday he believed the video was proof that McGowan was still alive. He added that the fact that Gustafsson was not in the video – as he had been in previous online video messages with McGowan – suggested that the video had been filmed recently.

SA hostage in Mali: ‘Please help me to bring this to a close’
03.07.2017 - Daily Maverick

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

AQIM hat nun auch Stephen McGowan freigelassen. Die Freilassung erfolgte lt. Aljazeera bereits am 25. Juli ...

Der seit sechs Jahren von radikal-islamistischen Extremisten in Mali gefangen gehaltene Südafrikaner Stephen McGown ist wieder frei. Er sei bereits am Samstag auf freien Fuß gesetzt worden und inzwischen wieder zu Hause, sagte die südafrikanische Außenministerin Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. Südafrika zahle kein Lösegeld für Geiseln. McGown war einer von vier Motorrad-Reisenden, die überfallen und verschleppt worden waren.

Frei nach sechs Jahren Geiselhaft
03.08.2017 - tagesschau

A South African tourist who was kidnapped in 2011 by al-Qaeda's North Africa branch while travelling in Mali has been released and has returned back home, according to South Africa's government. Stephen McGowan, who was released on July 25, was one of four foreigners touring Mali on motorbikes who were seized in a restaurant in Timbuktu.

South African held in Mali released by al-Qaeda
03.08.2017 - Aljazeera

Gruß
Birgitt