Quantcast
Published On: Tue, Aug 26th, 2014

Kidnapped American journalist, Peter Theo Curtis, freed Syrian Muslims

Just days after the execution of American journalist James Foley, another American journalist has been freed from his Syrian captors. Peter Theo Curtis has been safely returned to a United Nations representative after two years of captivity.
Peter Theo Curtis, screenshot from video released by al Jazeera in June

Peter Theo Curtis, screenshot from video released by al Jazeera in June

Al Jazeera reported, “Peter Theo Curtis was freed from captivity on Sunday, after reportedly being abducted in Antakya, Turkey, where he planned to enter Syria in October 2012.”

The U.S. government and Qatar government negotiated together for Curtis’ release. US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was relieved Curtis was returing home, before laying blame on al-Nusra Front for the kidnapping.

“We are all relieved and grateful knowing that Theo Curtis is coming home after so much time held in the clutches of [al-Nusrah Front], he said.

Kerry also said the US was using “every diplomatic, intelligence, and military tool” available to release other Americans held hostage.

Qatar’s foreign ministry has also issued this statement about its role in the release of Peter Theo Curtis.

“Qatar exerted relentless efforts to release the American journalist, out of Qatar’s belief in the principles of humanity and its keenness on the lives of individuals and their right to freedom and dignity.”

A video of Curtis appeared in late June to Al Jazeera. “Speaking in a video obtained by Al Jazeera, Curtis read from a prepared script stating his name and profession, saying he was a journalist from Boston, Massachusetts… Commenting on his treatment, Curtis said he “had everything” he needed and ‘everything has been perfect, food, clothing, even friends now’,” the article noted.

Foley was executed in a video, released a week ago, and another journalist was threatened as well by the ISIS sunni Muslim extremists.

Curtis was handed over in Syria’s Golan Heights to United Nations peacekeepers, who turned him over to American officials after a medical examination, the U.N. and the family said.

While they all are Sunni extremists, the Nusra Front split off from the Islamic State earlier this year, after al Qaeda’s general command disavowed Islamic State. At the time, Nusra Front supporters and analysts said the emerging brutality of ISIS was proving too extreme for al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Writer and Co-Founder of The Global Dispatch, Brandon has been covering news, offering commentary for years, beginning professionally in 2003 on Crazed Fanboy before expanding into other blogs and sites. Appearing on several radio shows, Brandon has hosted Dispatch Radio, written his first novel (The Rise of the Templar) and completed the three years Global University program in Ministerial Studies to be a pastor. To Contact Brandon email [email protected] ATTN: BRANDON

Displaying 1 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. American female aid worker help by ISIS for $6.6 million ransom, release of Aafia Siddiqui - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] in an IS video and threats to murder a second journalist. A third hostage, Peter Theo Curtis, has reportedly been released after nearly two years in […]

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives