Associated Press
June 15, 2004
Islamic Group Shows Tape of Blindfolded U.S. Hostage in Saudi Arabia,
Threatens to Kill Him
CAIRO, Egypt -- An Islamic Web site showed videotape Tuesday of a
blindfolded American hostage in Saudi Arabia, and said abductors
threatened to kill him unless Saudi authorities free al-Qaida
prisoners within three days.
Paul Johnson, 49, of Stafford Township, N.J., was abducted Saturday by
a group calling itself al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The
organization is believed to be headed by al-Qaida's chief in the
kingdom, Abdullah-aziz al-Moqrin, who was identified as speaking on
the tape.
"My name is Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr.," the seated hostage says in
the tape, an elaborate tattoo on his left shoulder. "I am an American.
.... I work on Apache helicopters."
A U.S. official said the threat should be taken "very seriously"
because the posting appears to be credible and militants have used the
site before. "It has been a good indicator in the past," the official
said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The Web site was posted on the same day Saudi Arabia's ruling crown
prince warned Islamic militants that the kingdom planned to deploy
more security forces than they had ever faced before.
The tape on the Web site showed a hooded man read a statement and
holding an AK-47 rifle. As the man was reading, a subtitle on the
screen identified him as al-Moqrin.
His statement was similar to a printed message on the Web site that
carried the name of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. It said the
group gave Saudi authorities 72 hours by Friday to release
"mujahadeen" militants or it would kill the hostage.
Segments of the tape appeared to have been edited together and showed
a blindfolded Johnson sitting in a chair with his profile to the
camera. In one sequence, Johnson appeared to have a bandage around his
neck, or a gag that had been pulled down from his mouth.
The tape, which was first aired by CNN, also displayed his Lockheed
Martin identification card.
Adel al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to the Saudi government, said
shortly after the video appeared that the kingdom would consult with
the Bush administration about how to continue, but Riyadh like
Washington has a strict no-negotiation policy.
"We don't negotiate with terrorists. We don't negotiate with
hostage-takers," al-Jubeir said in an interview on CNN.
The day Johnson was seized, Islamic militants shot dead another
American, Kenneth Scroggs, from Laconia, N.H., in his garage. Scroggs
was the third Westerner killed in a week, after the shooting death of
an Irish cameraman for the British Broadcasting Corp. on June 6 and
another American who was killed in his garage June 8.
On Monday, Johnson's son spoke to reporters about his father's love of
Arabic culture. Paul Johnson III said his father once sent a copy of
the Quran to his sister, with passages highlighted from the Islamic
holy text that he felt were especially important.
"He felt he never had any fear for his safety and respects and honors
their traditions and cultures," Johnson III said. "Dad said many times
he loved living in Saudi Arabia."
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040615_1678.html
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