Posted on 06/22/2005 3:55:13 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
Douglas Wood's Iraqi captors forced their hostages to watch the executions of fellow prisoners, a released hostage has revealed.
Swedish oil trader Ulf Hjertstrom, 63, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he was held captive in Iraq for 67 days, spending about about a month of that time in the same house as Mr Wood.
Aftonbladet night editor Sverker Laestadius told theage.com.au that Mr Hjertstrom revealed he had been forced to watch "eight or nine'' executions.
"They made him watch while they shot them, then after a while they took the bodies away,'' Mr Laestadius said.
Mr Hjertstrom could not confirm whether Mr Wood was made to watch the executions, but confirmed some prisoners were murdered while the 63-year-old Australian engineer was in the house.
"He said that just before he was released, the last execution went on, so I think that must mean that even Douglas Wood had to watch it,'' Mr Laestadius said.
The captors also threatened to execute Mr Hjertstrom about 10 times, holding a gun to his head and then pulling it away just before they pulled the trigger.
"He said after the first time he was shocked, but after the third time he wished he was dead, that they would shoot him,'' Mr Laestadius said.
Mr Hjertstrom, who had lived in Iraq for 14 years before his capture, told the paper that it was a relief to be able to talk to Mr Wood during their imprisonment.
"They were friendly. Wood told him a little about his work, and Ulf told Wood a little about his oil business and so on just to pass the time and forget about the situation,'' Mr Laestadius said.
Mr Wood was rescued by Iraqi and American troops on June 15 after being held for 47 days by insurgents who demanded that Australia withdraw its troops from Iraq.
Since returning to Australia on Monday, Mr Wood has said he has been too distraught to fully answer questions about his time in captivity. He is expected to reveal more to Channel 10 and New Idea, the two news organisations he has signed exclusive interview deals with.
Mr Hjertstrom was released on May 30, when his captors dropped told him off in the centre of Baghdad. He said he was kidnapped for financial reasons, and he believes a ransom was paid for his release.
"Someone has paid something, but I haven't been able to find out who or how much,'' Mr Hjertstrom told Swedish radio.
Swedish Police and Foreign Ministry officials declined to comment on the report.
At least it's not panties on head GITMO style. That's enough to make Dick Durbin cry like a baby.
And turban continues to have heartfelt concern for the prisoners at Gitmo.
Wonder if Pelosi wants to have an independent commission investigate this one? Nah, nothing of interest here. It's not as if they were playing loud rap music or anything really bad.
Must have been thinking of "the children".
Thank goodness, no orange-glaze chicken was involved. Otherwise Amnesty International might make a fuss.
Obscene. How anyone can support Islamofascist terrorism boggles the mind. Liberals and dems get away with trashing American soldiers and the US in time of war and nobody in the MSM says a word -- and that so called apology by Durkin yesterday -- Biden or Hill must have private polls that show Durkin's remarks aren't playing well in flyover country. (Biden says he might run for the dem presidential nomination, like he has a snowball's chance against Hill.)
At least they were not humiliated.
Hmmm, that's Durbin. How soon we forget.
Whew! Thank God that no Christina Aguilera CD's were played to these poor souls. I hope DICK Durbin is happy.
Dick Durbin is quite relieved, that these captors did not act like Nazis, or Gulag guards, or Pol Pot thugs.
He said he was kidnapped for financial reasons, and he believes a ransom was paid for his release.
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Idiots. This will encourage more adn more death.
Sometimes I think our US Senators purposely choose to not believe that there is anything good about our Armed Forces...
...not even if it was their own offspring giving water to a captured car-bomber.
Yeah, but that's acceptable under the Geneva Conventions isn't it? Come on, let's get some perspective here. They were just trying to be good Muslims and show the infidels how to gain martyrdom, getting the virgins and all.
I just thank God that he didn't have to indure the horrors of GITMO! Just think what he would have been subjected to if he had to live in an American Gulag. Oh God the horror of three squares a day, showers, reading materials, a holy book of his choice, clean clothes, fresh linens once a week. Why those damnable Americans and their stinking mistreatment of the heroes of Islam.......OK,OK, sarcasm aside, why doesn't the MSM an indepth on the differences between the way we treat our prisoners and the way the ragheads treat theirs. I haven't seen one yet, but I'd love to see it in prime time. Yeah like that's gonna happen.
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