U.S. Says it Told Qatar Not to Pay a Ransom New York Times (08/26/14) Baker, Peter U.S. officials on Monday confirmed that they had helped put the family of kidnapped American journalist Peter T. Curtis into contact with the government of Qatar, which helped secure Curtis release by the Syrian militant group Nusra Front earlier this week. American officials say they did not offer anything of value for Curtis release and say they advised the Qataris to do likewise, but added that they were unable to rule out the possibility that the Qataris offered Nusra Front money on their own, something the emirate has done to secure the release of other hostages in the past. For their part, members of Curtis family say they were assured by Qatar that no ransom had been paid. The U.S. does not pay ransoms for hostages taken by militant groups, arguing that doing so creates a market for such hostages that encourages more kidnappings and provides militants with a source of income that can be used to fund attacks. European countries and others do pay ransoms, with a recent New York Times story finding that al-Qaida and its affiliated groups have brought in $125 million in ransoms paid by European governments over the last five years.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 16:45:06 +0000
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