Norman Kember - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Norman Frank Kember is an Emeritus Professor of biophysics

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and a Christian pacifist active in campaigning on issues of war and peace. As a Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

, a long-standing member of the Baptist Peace Fellowship and the Fellowship of Reconciliation

Fellowship of Reconciliation

The Fellowship of Reconciliation is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries...

. As a conscientious objector

Conscientious objector

A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....

to military service, he worked in a hospital in the early 1950s, which stimulated his interest in medical physics.

He has been involved with the "Peace Zone" at the annual Greenbelt Festival

Greenbelt festival

Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown from a Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young Christians to its current more secular festival attended by around 20,000 - Christians and non-Christians.The festival...

. He became internationally known, when he - as a senior volunteer of Christian Peacemaker Teams

Christian Peacemaker Teams

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. These teams believe that they can lower the levels of violence through nonviolent direct action, human rights documentation, and nonviolence training. CPT sums...

(CPT) in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

- was taken as hostage with three other CPT members, leading to a widely publicised hostage crisis

2005-2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis

The Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis involved four human rights workers of Christian Peacemaker Teams who were held hostage in Iraq from November 26, 2005 by the Swords of Righteousness Brigade...

. He stated his reasons for going to Iraq were to demonstrate his opposition to the invasion of the country by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-led coalition and to show solidarity with the Iraqi people.

Kidnap and release

On 26 November 2005, Kember (a delegate) and three other Western

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

peace workers with CPT (American Tom Fox

Tom Fox (activist)

Thomas William "Tom" Fox was an American Quaker peace activist, affiliated with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq. He was kidnapped on November 26, 2005 in Baghdad along with three other CPT activists, leading to the 2005-2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis...

and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden

Harmeet Singh Sooden

Harmeet Singh Sooden is a Canadian and New Zealand citizen who volunteered for Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq. From November 26, 2005, he was held captive in Iraq with three others and threatened with execution until being freed by multinational forces in an operation on March 23, 2006.Sooden...

) were kidnapped

2005-2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis

The Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis involved four human rights workers of Christian Peacemaker Teams who were held hostage in Iraq from November 26, 2005 by the Swords of Righteousness Brigade...

by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade

Swords of Righteousness Brigade

The Swords of Righteousness Brigade is a terrorist group who kidnapped four Western peace activists in Iraq on 26 November 2005, murdered one, and held the remaining three hostage until March 22, 2006, when coalition forces raided the place where the hostages were held...

.

According to his family, Kember went to Iraq to help Iraqis. Kember's family said: "Norman’s recent trip to visit the people of Iraq serves to highlight his willingness to listen to people from all backgrounds, beliefs, and walks of life and his determination to promote equality amongst all people." "He has gone to Iraq to listen, not convert; to learn from the Iraqi people, not to impose values; to promote peace and understanding."

On 5 December 2005 Kember's wife made a plea for his release. Her 30 second plea was shown on Arab broadcast station Al Jazeera. . A 10 December deadline was set by the kidnappers for the release of all Iraqi prisoners, or the hostages would be executed. It passed without any word on the hostages' fate.

As the deadline passed and with no news of his whereabouts his friends held an hour-long silent vigil

Vigil

A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...

for him in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. A further vigil was held by local dignitaries and friends at Harrow

Harrow, London

Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...

Civic Centre. Two weeks later, with the Kember family still waiting to hear news, they set up a telephone line, hoping that the kidnappers would contact them.

On 28 January 2006 a new video was released by his captors and shown on Al-Jazeera television. They stated that this was the "last chance" for their demands to be met.

On 5 March vigils were held in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

to mark 100 days since Kember was taken hostage. http://www.lichfield.anglican.org/pressr/articles/2006/060303a.htm and on March 7 a new tape of Kember was aired on Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

satellite television station al-Jazeera. Three days later, the body of Kember's American colleague Tom Fox

Tom Fox (activist)

was found.

On 23 March Kember and the others were freed during a raid by multinational forces led by British Special Forces. None of the captors were present at the time of the raid, no shots were fired and no-one was injured. Professor Kember himself assumes that the non-violent manner of his release was a result of a previous campaign to get hold of one of his captors who obviously uncovered the address of the place in return for allowance to inform his comrades that they should stay away from the place.

Kember was repeatedly criticised for his response toward the military forces involved in the rescue. He refused to provide military intelligence with any information regarding his captors. He also requested the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq. On the 24 March General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Sir Michael Jackson

Mike Jackson

General Sir Michael David "Mike" Jackson, is a retired British Army officer and one of its most high-profile generals since the Second World War. Originally commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1963, he transferred to the Parachute Regiment, with whom he served two of his three tours of...

told Channel 4 News

Channel 4 News

Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...

that he was “saddened that there doesn’t seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives”. On 25 March, in a telephone phone-in discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

, Colonel Bob Stewart

Bob Stewart (British Army officer)

Colonel Robert Alexander "Bob" Stewart DSO is a former British Army officer, former United Nations commander in Bosnia, commentator, author, public speaker and Conservative Party politician...

, a former British Commander under United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

command in Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

from September 1992 to May 1993 suggested that Mr Kember and people like him were a liability, since he had ignored advice not to go to Baghdad and the security services, the British government and multinational forces had diverted valuable time and resources to rescue a "foolish, albeit well-intentioned, meddling civilian". His alleged lack of gratitude was criticised as not being characteristic of true Christian values.

He arrived back in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

on 25 March and released a written statement saying "I do not believe that a lasting peace [in Iraq] is achieved by armed force, but I pay tribute to their (the armed forces) courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue". Later that day he also released a video statement in which he again thanked his rescuers, and those who had supported his family throughout his kidnapping.

Norman Kember wrote an account of his kidnap, "Hostage in Iraq" (published 2007). He himself considers it an irony that he travelled to Iraq to oppose the military intervention and was flown out of Baghdad in a military helicopter, guarded by machine guns. He also is discussing whether his peace testimony has been compromised and what alternatives would have been at hand. In lectures and interviews, Kember states that what saddens him is the fact that he is alive and well, while people in Iraq, servicemen as well as civilians, are constantly threatened and many have meanwhile lost their lives.

Pleas for his release

Many individuals and groups asked for Kember's release; including: Terry Waite

Terry Waite

Terry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5983_1570223,00430005.htm, radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada

Abu Qatada

Abû-Qatâda al-Filisṭînî , sometimes called Abû-Omar is an Islamist militant. Under the name Omar Mahmoud Othman , he is under worldwide embargo by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267 for his affiliation with al-Qaeda...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

's Muslim Brotherhood

Muslim Brotherhood

The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...

, and Briton Moazzam Begg

Moazzam Begg

Moazzam Begg , is a British Pakistani Muslim who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the U.S...

, a former detainee at the Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay detainment camp

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...

prison.

Arrest of kidnappers

On 7 November 2006 Iraqi government troops arrested individuals suspected of involvement in the kidnap and imprisonment of Norman Kember. The same day, Kember released a statement in which he refused to testify against them http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=24268&in_page_id=34.

Hostage in Iraq

A year after his dramatic release by a multinational military raid, Norman Kember revealed his story behind the controversy of his captivity in Baghdad in his book Hostage in Iraq. The book included previously unseen drawings and notes made by Norman Kember, who during his captivity invented games with his fellow captives. http://www.dltbooks.com/book_details.asp?bID=418. Writing for The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

newspaper, Kember praised his captors' conduct, stating that "I am almost surprised that we were treated so moderately by our captors – apart, that is, from the tragic, largely unexplained, decision to kill Tom Fox, the American Quaker."

Kember provides bail for Abu Qatada

In May 2008 Kember controversially provided bail security for the release of convicted terrorist Abu Qatada

Abu Qatada

. Qatada who requested the release of Kember, entered the UK using a forged passport but was allowed to remain in the UK on appeal under the British Human Rights Act 1998

Human Rights Act 1998

The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...

and European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

, despite suspected continued terrorist involvement and was held in prison until his release by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission

Special Immigration Appeals Commission

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by the Home Secretary under various statutory powers, and usually related to matters of...

External links

Free The Captives: Petition for the release of Christian Peacemakers being held in Iraq – includes latest news and daily updates
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Interview with Norman Kember at Premier.tv
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Baptist Peace Fellowship
Norman Kember talks to Nigel Bovey, editor of The War Cry
Norman Kember's wife, Pat, talks to Nigel Bovey, editor of The War Cry