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Margaret Hassan



Hassan joined humanitarian relief organisation CARE International in 1991, the aid group having established itself in Iraq during that year. Sanitation, health, and nutrition became major concerns in the sanctioned Iraq; she became a vocal critic of the United Nations restrictions. She was opposed to the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, arguing before it that the Iraqis were already "living through a terrible emergency. They do not have the resources to withstand an additional crisis brought about by military action".

By 2004 she was head of Iraqi operations for CARE. Well known in many of Baghdad's slums and other cities, Hassan was especially interested in Iraq's young people, whom she called "the lost generation". Her presence could draw large crowds of locals. [1]

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Kidnapping and murder

Hassan was kidnapped in Baghdad on October 19, 2004, and believed to be killed some four weeks later.

Her kidnappers did not issue any specific demands, but in a video released of her in captivity she pleaded for the withdrawal of British troops. She stated that "these might be [her] last hours", "Please help me. The British people, tell Mr Blair to take the troops out of Iraq and not bring them here to Baghdad" and that she did not "want to die like Bigley", a reference to Kenneth Bigley who had been beheaded in Iraq only weeks earlier.

Patients of an Iraqi hospital (where her work had some effect) took to the streets in protest against the hostage takers' actions. On October 25, between 100 and 200 Iraqis protested outside CARE's offices in Baghdad, demanding her release. Prominent elements of the Iraqi insurgency, such as the Shura Council of Fallujah Mujahedeen, condemned the kidnapping and called for her release.

On November 2, Al Jazeera reported that the kidnappers threatened to hand her over to the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who were responsible for the murder of Kenneth Bigley. However, on November 6, a statement purportedly from al-Zarqawi appeared on an Islamist website calling for the release of Ms. Hassan unless the kidnappers had information she was aligned with the invading coalition. However, the statement could not be authenticated. Hassan's whereabouts were unknown in the video.

On November 15, U.S. Marines in Fallujah uncovered the body of an unidentified blonde- or grey-haired woman with her legs and arms cut off and throat slit. The body could not be immediately identified, but was thought unlikely to be Hassan, who had brown hair. There was one other western woman known missing in Iraq at the time the body was discovered, Teresa Borcz Khalifa, 54, Polish-born and also a long-time Iraqi resident. Khalifa was released by her hostage takers on November 20.

On November 16, CNN reported that 'CARE' had issued a statement [2] indicating that the organization was aware of a videotape allegedly showing Hassan's murder. Al-Jazeera reported that it had received a tape allegedly showing Hassan's murder but was unable to confirm its authenticity. The video shows a woman, referred to as Hassan, being shot with a handgun by a masked man.

On December 1, newspapers reported that dental tests carried out on the body found in Fallujah showed that the body was not Hassan's. The British Foreign Office stated that they still believed she was dead.

It is not clear who was responsible for Hassan's abduction and murder, and there have been no claims of responsibility as with previous abductions.

On May 1, 2005 three men were questioned by Iraqi police in connection with the murder.

On June 5, 2006 news reports emerged that an Iraqi man by the name of Mustafa Salman al-Jubouri has been sentenced to life imprisonment for "aiding and abetting the kidnappers" but two other men were acquitted[1] Margaret Hassan's family said the verdict left them "devastated and appalled" It is unclear what role the others who were acquitted played in the kidnapping or the role of the suspect who was found guilty.

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Aftermath

CARE International suspended operations in Iraq because of Hassan's kidnapping. The last CARE project Hassan completed was one for children with spinal injuries.

The director of the spinal cord clinic she supported in Baghdad, Qayder al-Chalabi, called her loss a huge blow to all Iraqis. "(The killers) made a very big mistake. This was a (sic) wrong person", he said on November 17. "We need to admire and remember her. We must have a ceremony every year to remember her". He believes that a statue should be erected in her honor.

At least eight other women kidnapped by insurgents during the conflict were released unharmed by their captors (Simona Pari, Simona Torretta, Florence Aubenas, Giuliana Sgrena, Teresa Borcz Khalifa, Hannelore Krause, Marie Jeanne Ion , and Jill Carroll). It is unclear why Margaret Hassan, who was opposed to the war, was killed; the kidnappers did not identify their group nor their aims.

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See also

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References

  1. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Iraqi jailed over Hassan killing

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External links




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