Posted on 11/14/2001 12:10:30 AM PST by kattracks
VIENNA, Austria, Nov 14, 2001 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son said Wednesday he is working to win the release of eight foreign aid workers held in Afghanistan on charges of preaching Christianity and predicted they would be freed soon.
Seif el-Islam Gadhafi, chairman of the Gadhafi Foundation for Charitable Organizations, told The Associated Press that his nongovernmental organization has been in touch with the Taliban for about two months in efforts to win freedom for the eight detainees.
In a statement to the AP made through Libya's consulate in Vienna, Gadhafi's son said the effort was bearing fruit "because of the good standing the foundation enjoys in this area."
"I believe that the Taliban will release these people in the near future," he said.
The eight - four Germans, two Americans and two Australians - are employees of the Germany-based Christian organization Shelter Now International. They have been held since Aug. 3 on charges of trying to convert Muslims, a serious offense in Islamic Afghanistan.
Taliban Supreme Court judges have indefinitely postponed their trial, saying they fear their anger at the United States over the airstrikes could hamper their ability to make a fair ruling in the case.
On Tuesday, the eight were moved from their cells in a detention center in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and were taken to the south by retreating Taliban forces.
Gadhafi said his foundation made contact with the Taliban "with the aim of finding a solution for these people through third-party mediation."
He said his foundation was working "to try to visit these people in order to convey letters and messages from them to their families," adding: "As far as I know, they are all in good health."
Libya has not given the Taliban diplomatic recognition, but Gadhafi told Berlin's Tagesspiegel daily last week that "our humanitarian help for the Afghan people has improved our relations with the Taliban." He did not elaborate on what kind of aid Libya or his foundation was providing.
Last year, Libya was involved in freeing all but one of 21 Western tourists and Asian workers kidnapped by the Philippines' Abu Sayyaf rebels. Tripoli reportedly financed huge ransoms to win their freedom, and earlier this year, Seif el-Islam Gadhafi hosted peace talks in Tripoli between the Philippine government and Muslim separatists fighting for autonomy.
Although the United States accuses Libya of sponsoring terrorism and recently extended sanctions against foreign companies suspected of doing business with the North African nation, Washington suspended sanctions against Libya itself in 1999.
The suspension came after Libya handed over two officials for trial on charges of planting the bomb that downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.
By WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2001 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Dunno, but hope it's true. They're talking about it on Fox & Friends right now.
Please, Lord, let it be true.
Yeh, right. Since when did the Taliban grow a conscience?
I also wonder whether the hostages might have been picked off (collateral damage) by our planes as we beat up their retreating lines?
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