Spectre of kidnap returns to haunt the West

A BRITISH peace activist taken hostage in Iraq has been accused by his kidnappers of spying.

Norman Kember was one of four men who appeared in a videotape issued yesterday by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade.

Mr Kember, a 74-year-old retired university professor, had previously described his decision to travel to Iraq as a gesture of solidarity with Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Canada-based peace group working in Iraq.

The videotape showed Mr Kember and three colleagues sitting side by side, along with a close up of Mr Kember's passport.

Their abduction followed the kidnapping of Susanne Osthoff, a German archaeologist missing since Friday. In another videotape broadcast yesterday, unidentified kidnappers threatened to kill Ms Osthoff unless the German government stopped co-operating with Iraq's US-backed government.

The release of the videotapes marks an end to the lull in the kidnapping of westerners in Iraq. More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped since the US-led invasion in 2003 and 52 of them are known to have been executed since 2004.

The most high profile kidnappings were those of Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan, who were eventually murdered by their captors in October and November of last year. Thousands of Iraqis have also been kidnapped over the same period,

The videotape of Ms Osthoff showed three armed, masked figures surrounding two people sitting on the ground with their eyes covered. One of the masked figures appeared to be reading from a piece of paper. The videotape of Mr Kember, however, featured only the hostages.

The video bore a date stamp indicating it was recorded on Sunday, the day after the men were seized. In the corner of the video were two, crossed black swords and the name of the group written in red Arabic script.

In a statement yesterday, Christian Peacemaker Teams stressed that it worked on behalf of Iraqi civilians. "The team's work has focused on documenting and focusing public attention on detainee abuses, connecting citizens of Iraq to local and international human rights organisations, and accompanying Iraqi civilians as they interact with multinational military personnel and Iraq's government officials," the group said.

The group said it has had a team in Iraq since October 2002, working with US and Iraqi detainees and training others in nonviolent intervention and human rights documentation. Mr Kember and another person were part of a visiting delegation, while two of the group's staff based in Iraq were also taken, the statement said.

Friends of Mr Kember, a grandfather and a former professor at a teaching hospital, dismissed the spy claim.

Bruce Kent, a peace campaigner said: "He would never ever dream of doing anything like spying. The last thing he would do would be working for the British government."

Mr Kember, who campaigned against the war in Iraq, was seized along with two Canadians and an American in Baghdad.

Before travelling to the country, Mr Kember, from Pinner, north-west London, said the trip was designed as a "gesture of solidarity" with Christian Peacemaker Teams from a Canada-based international peace group working in Iraq.

Writing for the Peacelinks newsletter earlier this year, Mr Kember had described himself as a "cheap" peacemaker who was in no way taking the same risks that were faced by young servicemen in Iraq.

Earlier this month, Mr Kember told a Christian radio station that he realised the risk he was taking in travelling to Iraq, admitting that his visit could prove "more costly" to him than taking part in peace demonstrations in Britain. He said: "I hope to meet ordinary Iraqis of various backgrounds, Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and just hear their stories, then come back and talk about it."

When asked if going to Iraq was brave, he answered: "I don't know, I've done a lot of writing and talking about peacemaking. I've demonstrated, you name it I've been on it, but I feel that's what I'd call cheap peacemaking."

His family said in a statement before the video was released that Mr Kember, a conscientious objector who chose to work in a hospital rather than undertake National Service, was in Iraq to try and help resolve the situation in the country.

They stated: "He was there for a short time to join a peace group that's talking and listening to people of all persuasions, believing that dialogue not confrontation should help to bring about conciliation.

"He feels very strongly that the occupation in Iraq is a mistake. He is in Iraq at this time because of the human rights abuses being perpetrated against the Iraqi people."

Last night the Foreign Office said: "We utterly condemn the abduction of Mr Norman Kember and his colleagues. The release of this video can only cause further distress to their families at this difficult time."

Meanwhile, Paul Bigley, brother of Ken Bigley, said the Kember family were welcome to speak to him if they needed to do so.

"If the Kember family think they would like to speak to me, and maybe share some of the things I did and some of the numbers and some of the people I spoke to, they're more than welcome, if they so wish," he said.