A Syrian rebel group closely linked to al-Qaeda has released a U.S. citizen, Peter Theo Curtis (45), after holding him for approximately 22 months, a move that came days after a different militant outfit, Islamic State, beheaded American journalist James Foley and posted a gruesome video of the act on the Internet sparking worldwide condemnation.
The release of Mr. Curtis, who was captured in Syria in October 2012, by Jabhat al-Nusrah was apparently made possible by the direct intervention of the government of Qatar, which stepped in to negotiate with the hostage-takers after numerous other efforts by the U.S., United Nations and others failed.
In a statement the UN said that Mr. Curtis, who is a published author and freelance journalist writing under the name Theo Padnos, had been handed over to its peacekeepers in Al Rafid village, in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel in the evening of August 24 2014.
After he received a medical check-up and was found to be healthy, he was handed over to U.S. officials, the UN added.
Speaking after his release U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that after the “unspeakable tragedy,” of Mr. Foely’s killing, there was relief about the fact that Mr. Curtis was coming home.
Underscoring the breadth of negotiations to secure his release Mr. Kerry added, “Over these last two years, the U.S. reached out to more than two dozen countries asking for urgent help from anyone who might have tools, influence, or leverage to help secure Theo's release and the release of any Americans held hostage in Syria.
Mr. Curtis’ mother Nancy said, “We appeal to the captors of the remaining hostages to release them in the same humanitarian spirit that prompted Theo’s release.”
Although Mr. Curtis’ family appeared unclear about the exact terms of his release, they were told that no ransom was paid and that the Qatari government had petitioned for his release on purely “humanitarian” grounds.
The U.S. policy of non-negotiation with terror or militant groups, specifically its refusal to pay ransom for hostages, has been thrown into the spotlight since the decapitation of Mr. Foley, for whom Islamic State apparently demanded $132.5 million from his family.
While U.S. officials defend this policy on the grounds that the paying of ransom encourages future hostage-taking and also it has proven to be a lucrative ‘business’ for terrorists and yielded them millions of dollars in 2014, for example, European governments appear to be more willing to pay.
This week Mr. Curtis’ release also spurred on the debate about what Western governments could do additionally to secure the release of hostages from groups such as Islamic State, who are said to deliberately adopt a high degree of brutality against captives to terrorise its enemies.
Currently at least three more Americans, including one woman, are said to be held hostage in the Syria-Iraq region, and one of them, journalist Steven Sotloff, was seen briefly in the video of Mr. Foley’s beheading, with the masked executioner warning U.S. President Barack Obama that unless airstrikes against Islamic State forces in Iraq stopped immediately Mr. Sotloff would meet a similar fate.
