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| Iraq |
| Magazine: Ransom money found on Osthoff |
| 2006-01-21 |
| Part of the ransom money alleged to have been paid by the German government to win the freedom of Iraq hostage Susanne Osthoff last month was found on Osthoff after her release, the German magazine Focus said on Saturday. Without citing its sources, Focus said officials at the German embassy in Baghdad had found several thousand U.S. dollars in the 43-year-old German archaeologist's clothes when she took a shower at the embassy shortly after being freed. The serial numbers on the bills matched those used by the government to pay off Osthoff's kidnappers, the magazine said. Efforts to contact Osthoff for comment through her mother and a friend failed. A spokeswoman at the German Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the report. The German government is known to have paid ransoms for hostages in the past, but has refused to comment on whether it did so for Osthoff. Speculation about the circumstances of her kidnapping and release has swirled in the German media since the German government announced on December 18 that she was free. Two days after her release, the German government freed a Hizbollah member jailed for life in 1985 for the murder of a U.S. Navy diver. Berlin has denied a connection between the two events. Osthoff herself caused a stir when she said in an interview at the end of December that she did not believe her kidnappers were criminals. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #13 I rather the US slash imports from Germany. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-01-21 17:31 |
| #12 Time to increase troop number in Germany. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2006-01-21 17:06 |
| #11 Everything about this affair, from the "kidnapping" to her "release" to the Germans setting a killer free despite a valid and well-known long-standing extradition request to the bizarro hooded TV interview to the aftermath and revelations such as this, stinks beyond belief. Who could possibly trust the Germans after this? |
| Posted by: .com 2006-01-21 17:01 |
| #10 "So they paid a ranson AND released a murderer." Of course, it's the Jizya Layaway Plan in the Dhimmi manual... |
| Posted by: Snutle Clomble1552 2006-01-21 16:13 |
| #9 So they paid a ranson AND released a murderer. Remind me if I ever get into the kidnapping business to make sure I pinch a German ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-01-21 16:05 |
| #8 Check Kofi's pockets. |
| Posted by: Master of Obvious 2006-01-21 16:05 |
| #7 Two days after her release, the German government freed a Hizbollah member jailed for life in 1985 for the murder of a U.S. Navy diver Which I why I care. I haven't thought of the German govt as our ally for some time, but that part was simply beyond the pale. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-21 15:24 |
| #6 Gosh, didn't the Germans deny paying ransom for awhile there? I'm thinking I'm as much of an archeologist as she is... |
| Posted by: Cherens Ominemble6407 2006-01-21 14:54 |
| #5 BS. you're right. Must of been the end game I was thinking of. |
| Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 2006-01-21 14:45 |
| #4 Have to disagree there, HC. At the beginning of the whole sordid affair, Patty Hearst wasn't complicit in her kidnapping (and subsequent happenings). Doubt we can say the same for Osthoff. >:-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-01-21 14:42 |
| #3 Eventually the entire sordid, squalid and perfide story will out. Can you say "Patty Hearst"? |
| Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 2006-01-21 14:23 |
| #2 ouch! Touche, DK70! Nicely done |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-21 14:17 |
| #1 Cab Fare. |
| Posted by: Danking70 2006-01-21 14:10 |