Susanne Osthoff
Encyclopedia
Susanne Kristina Osthoff (born March 7, 1962 in Munich
) is a German
archaeologist who had worked in Iraq
since 1991 until being taken hostage there on November 25, 2005. She was freed by her captors on December 18, 2005.
(Bavaria) with two brothers and one sister. Having finished school, she studied Near Eastern archaeology
and Semitic languages
at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
. During the course of her studies, she visited Turkey
, Jordan
, Iraq
, Syria
and Yemen
to take part in excavations. She was married to a Jordanian, with whom she has a daughter, and has converted to Islam
. Since 1991, she lived more or less continually in Iraq where she primarily worked as an archaeologist but also became involved as an aid worker
.
to Arbil
; shortly after, a DVD
containing a video clip was given to the ARD office in Baghdad. In the video, the two captives are shown surrounded by masked, armed men who read a statement demanding that the German government immediately cease all cooperation with the Iraqi government.
While the abduction was initially assumed to be politically motivated and probably instigated by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
, there was some speculation as to the real identity of the kidnappers. The very unprofessional quality of the video, along with the fact that the German government has long opposed American involvement in Iraq, led some experts to believe that the kidnappers were common criminals trying to extort money. Others point out that the timing of the abduction very shortly after a change of government
in Germany and during a discussion of possible German participation in the training of Iraqi police forces does point towards a politically motivated kidnapping. Al Jazeera
carried an article quoting Susanne Osthoff as saying that her kidnappers were not criminals and only demanded German humanitarian aid for Iraq's Sunni Arabs and stated clearly that they did not want a ransom.
Susanne Osthoff and her driver were freed from their captors on December 18, 2005.
(German Press Agency) suggested that she wanted to return to Iraq to continue her projects. She was warned by German authorities that this would put her life in danger again and strongly discouraged from returning to Iraq. The German Department of Foreign Affairs even asked the Iraqi government to deny her a new visa.
In her first television interview in Germany, with ZDF
, aired on Wednesday, December 28, Susanne Osthoff reacted to questions in a seemingly incoherent manner and appeared in traditional Muslim clothing, including headscarf. This was said to be due to a lack of communication and preparation, but in the German public, many took it as a sign of estrangement.
The interview was heavily edited for broadcast. The conversation before the interview can be found (in German) on 'FAZNet'.
reported that part of the ransom money alleged to have been paid by the German government to win the freedom of Susanne Osthoff was found on Osthoff after her release.
Without citing its sources, Focus said officials at the German embassy in Baghdad had found several thousand U.S. dollars in the 43-year-old German archaeologist's clothes when she took a shower at the embassy shortly after being freed.
The serial numbers on the bills allegedly matched those allegedly used by the government to pay off Osthoff's kidnappers. The German Foreign Ministry declined to comment. The German government is known to have paid ransoms for hostages in the past, but refused to comment on whether it did so for Osthoff.
She gave another interview during the German television chat show 'Beckmann' (ARD) on January 8, 2007, explaining that a certain amount of money had been given to her by the kidnappers as a compensation for the personal goods that had been stolen from her, some of which were quite valuable, e. g. a digital camera. She said she had shown the money to a German embassy official during their first meeting.
Furthermore, suspicions came up that the second victim, Osthoff's Iraqi driver, was involved in the abduction.
Another allegation is that Germany traded the terrorist Mohammed Ali Hamadi, who was convicted of the murder of US Navy
sailor Robert Stethem
during the highjacking of TWA Flight 847
, for Susanne Osthoff. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1829531,00.html
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
) is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
archaeologist who had worked 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....
since 1991 until being taken hostage there on November 25, 2005. She was freed by her captors on December 18, 2005.
Biography
Osthoff grew up in GrafingGrafing
Grafing bei München is a town in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. In 2003, the town marked its 50th anniversary of being raised to town .-Geography:...
(Bavaria) with two brothers and one sister. Having finished school, she studied Near Eastern archaeology
Near Eastern archaeology
Near Eastern Archaeology is a regional branch of the wider, global discipline of Archaeology...
and Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich , commonly known as the University of Munich or LMU, is a university in Munich, Germany...
. During the course of her studies, she visited Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, 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....
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
to take part in excavations. She was married to a Jordanian, with whom she has a daughter, and has converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Since 1991, she lived more or less continually in Iraq where she primarily worked as an archaeologist but also became involved as an aid worker
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
.
Abduction
In summer 2005, Osthoff, who had previously converted to Islam, allegedly received several threats of abduction which she relayed to American authorities. Although the threats were judged to be serious and the German embassy asked Osthoff to leave the country, Osthoff decided to stay in the country and continue her work. On November 25, Osthoff and her driver vanished en route from BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
to Arbil
Arbil
Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
; shortly after, a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
containing a video clip was given to the ARD office in Baghdad. In the video, the two captives are shown surrounded by masked, armed men who read a statement demanding that the German government immediately cease all cooperation with the Iraqi government.
While the abduction was initially assumed to be politically motivated and probably instigated by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
, there was some speculation as to the real identity of the kidnappers. The very unprofessional quality of the video, along with the fact that the German government has long opposed American involvement in Iraq, led some experts to believe that the kidnappers were common criminals trying to extort money. Others point out that the timing of the abduction very shortly after a change of government
German federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
in Germany and during a discussion of possible German participation in the training of Iraqi police forces does point towards a politically motivated kidnapping. Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
carried an article quoting Susanne Osthoff as saying that her kidnappers were not criminals and only demanded German humanitarian aid for Iraq's Sunni Arabs and stated clearly that they did not want a ransom.
Susanne Osthoff and her driver were freed from their captors on December 18, 2005.
Aftermath of the release
In an interview with Arabic news-channel Al-Jazeera on December 23, a mistake in translation by the DPADeutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH is a news agency founded in 1949 in Germany. Based in Hamburg, it has grown to be a major worldwide operation serving print media, radio, television, online, mobile phones, and national news agencies. News is available in German, English, Spanish, and Arabic.The DPA...
(German Press Agency) suggested that she wanted to return to Iraq to continue her projects. She was warned by German authorities that this would put her life in danger again and strongly discouraged from returning to Iraq. The German Department of Foreign Affairs even asked the Iraqi government to deny her a new visa.
In her first television interview in Germany, with ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
, aired on Wednesday, December 28, Susanne Osthoff reacted to questions in a seemingly incoherent manner and appeared in traditional Muslim clothing, including headscarf. This was said to be due to a lack of communication and preparation, but in the German public, many took it as a sign of estrangement.
The interview was heavily edited for broadcast. The conversation before the interview can be found (in German) on 'FAZNet'.
Speculations
On January 28, 2006, the German magazine FocusFocus (magazine)
Magazines with the name Focus include:* Focus , a German weekly news magazine* Focus , a Christian religion magazine published in the United States...
reported that part of the ransom money alleged to have been paid by the German government to win the freedom of Susanne Osthoff was found on Osthoff after her release.
Without citing its sources, Focus said officials at the German embassy in Baghdad had found several thousand U.S. dollars in the 43-year-old German archaeologist's clothes when she took a shower at the embassy shortly after being freed.
The serial numbers on the bills allegedly matched those allegedly used by the government to pay off Osthoff's kidnappers. The German Foreign Ministry declined to comment. The German government is known to have paid ransoms for hostages in the past, but refused to comment on whether it did so for Osthoff.
She gave another interview during the German television chat show 'Beckmann' (ARD) on January 8, 2007, explaining that a certain amount of money had been given to her by the kidnappers as a compensation for the personal goods that had been stolen from her, some of which were quite valuable, e. g. a digital camera. She said she had shown the money to a German embassy official during their first meeting.
Furthermore, suspicions came up that the second victim, Osthoff's Iraqi driver, was involved in the abduction.
Another allegation is that Germany traded the terrorist Mohammed Ali Hamadi, who was convicted of the murder of US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
sailor Robert Stethem
Robert Stethem
Robert Dean Stethem was a United States Navy Seabee diver who was killed by Hezbollah militants during the hijacking of the commercial airliner he was aboard: TWA Flight 847...
during the highjacking of TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847 was an international Trans World Airlines flight which was hijacked by Lebanese Shia extremists, later identified as members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, on Friday morning, June 14, 1985, after originally taking off from Cairo. The flight was en route from Athens to Rome and then...
, for Susanne Osthoff. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1829531,00.html
External links
- 'No Rescue of German Hostage Imminent', Deutsche WelleDeutsche WelleDeutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
, December 6, 2005 - 'Christians and Muslims pray for Iraq hostage', The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, December 12, 2005 - 'German hostage in Iraq is free', ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, December 18, 2005