1549 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 CAIRO, Egypt (June 16) -- The captors of a New Jersey man abducted in Saudi Arabia distributed a videotape of him and threatened to kill him unless Saudi authorities release al-Qaida prisoners within three days. Paul Johnson, 49, of Stafford Township, N.J., was kidnapped Saturday by a group calling itself al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The organization is believed to be headed by al-Qaida's chief in the Saudi kingdom, Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin. On Tuesday, an Islamic Web site showed a videotape of Johnson wearing a blindfold. ''My name is Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr.,'' says the hostage, seated and with an elaborate tattoo showing on his left shoulder. ''I am an American. ... I work on Apache helicopters.'' A U.S. official said the threat should be taken ''very seriously'' because the posting appeared to be credible and militants have used the site before. ''It has been a good indicator in the past,'' the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The Web site was posted on the same day Saudi Arabia's ruling crown prince warned Islamic militants that the kingdom planned to deploy more security forces than they had ever faced before. ''Be assured that the kingdom has enough men whom you haven't seen so far, but within the coming few days you will see them,'' Crown Prince Abdullah told the militants, whose attacks have increased during the past three months. His remarks were televised. The tape on the Web site showed a hooded man reading a statement and holding an AK-47 rifle. As the man was reading, a subtitle on the screen identified him as al-Moqrin. His statement was similar to a printed message on the Web site that carried the name of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. It said the group gave Saudi authorities 72 hours - by Friday - to release ''mujahadeen'' militants or it would kill the hostage. Segments of the tape appeared to have been edited together and showed a blindfolded Johnson sitting in a chair with his profile to the camera. In one sequence, Johnson appeared to have a bandage around his neck, or a gag that had been pulled down from his mouth. The tape also displayed his Lockheed Martin identification card. Adel al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to the Saudi government, told The Associated Press that the kingdom was trying to determine the authenticity of the tape and would consult with the Bush administration about what to do next. Al-Jubeir also said the current situation with the Islamic militants was not a crisis but a serious issue that the Saudi kingdom will be dealing with for some time. ''Their strategy is to try to sow fear in people's hearts, and to panic, and to cause an exodus of foreign workers from Saudi Arabia, in particular Westerners,'' he said. ''They are trying to scare foreign workers into leaving Saudi Arabia because they believe it will weaken the Saudi economy and consequently weaken the Saudi government, but they are mistaken.'' The statement on the Web site says the holy warriors of the Arabian peninsula's Fallujah Brigade had ''hit'' the engineering team that ''oversees the development of the American Apache helicopter that attacks Muslims in Palestine and Afghanistan.'' The statement is dated June 15. The day Johnson was seized, Islamic militants shot and killed Kenneth Scroggs, from Laconia, N.H., in his garage. Scroggs was the third Westerner killed in a week, after the shooting death of an Irish cameraman for the British Broadcasting Corp. on June 6 and another American who was also killed in his garage June 8. Saudi security forces arrested a militant north of Riyadh on Tuesday as they stepped up presence in and around the city in a hunt for Johnson's kidnappers. The militants previously threatened to treat Johnson as U.S. troops treated Iraqi detainees, a reference to the month-old controversy over sexual and other abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Members of Johnson's family, through a police officer stationed outside their home in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J., declined an offer by CNN to view the video before it was aired. They could not immediately be reached for comment. On Monday, Johnson's son spoke to reporters about his father's love of Arabic culture. Paul Johnson III said his father once sent a copy of the Quran to his sister, with passages highlighted from the Islamic holy text that he felt were especially important. ''He felt he never had any fear for his safety and respects and honors their traditions and cultures,'' Johnson III said. ''Dad said many times he loved living in Saudi Arabia.'' Westerners in Saudi Arabia are responding to the attacks by moving to high-security compounds or even to neighboring Bahrain, and by pushing for the right to armed private guards, according to diplomats and real estate agents. Western embassies in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, are negotiating with the government for a relaxation of the ban on private security guards carrying firearms, a Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. AP-NY-06-16-04 0602EDT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I'd be surprised to find out he is still alive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1549 Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 This is a picture from the video released by the terrorists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Well... get ready for the crap to hit the fan with this mans family. Bush has already said "we do not negotiate with terriosts". I'm with you QP.. my bet is that he's already dead and his execution video will be on the internet any day now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Sadly, not negotiating is probably the best course for us all. Not for this one man. :headshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 So, when do we drop the "better than thou" and "take the high road" stance and decide it is time to quit f***ing around and actually play "hardball" with these monkies? Hey, you want an "eye for an eye", fine, but you take out one of ours like this again, and we take out every single person in our "prison". Not to sound insensitive, but f*** those assholes. :fyou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniBob72 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 The fact that they aren't worried that we'd do that speaks volumes. I'm just not sure what it says. Either we're civilized and wouldn't do that, or they think we're pussies and wouldn't do that. Or they hope we would do that and that would help their cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Take comfort that these losers will rot in hell for all eternity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 There is also a tape on their site of a couple of dudes pumping an American full of lead in the parking lot. Not cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxman352000 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Take comfort that these losers will rot in hell for all eternity. God I hope so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Tizzle Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Sadly, not negotiating is probably the best course for us all. Not for this one man. :headshake Which is worse: Abiding to terrorist demands and setting a dangerous precedent, or ignoring their requests and basically conceeding the life of an American? There's only one guarantee: public backlash awaits Bush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 There is also a tape on their site of a couple of dudes pumping an American full of lead in the parking lot. Not cool. If they've killed this one I hope it's by that means and not the berg "way".. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandwhite Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 what sick people... :headshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 America!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xero Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Those people are so f***ed up its not even funny... :headshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCaucasian Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Sadly, not negotiating is probably the best course for us all. Not for this one man. :headshake I agree. And in all honesty, if I were that guy, I would hope the US would let me die and show the terrorists that we wont back down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 This is definitely a "no win" situation. We can't negotiate. We can't prevent it. We can't retaliate in kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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