[article] Paul Johnson beheaded

mike65

US hostage beheaded by al-Qa'ida captors
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington

19 June 2004

The American engineer taken hostage by al-Qa'ida militants in Saudi Arabia was last night reported to have been beheaded by his captors - just hours after his family pleaded for them to release him.

The bureau chief of the al-Arabiya television network in Riyadh said that he had seen video footage of the execution that had been released by the kidnappers. Three pictures of the execution were also posted on the internet. It was the second time in five weeks that an American had been beheaded in the Middle East by groups claiming links to al-Qa'ida.

Paul Johnson, 49, was taken hostage last weekend by extremists who demanded the Saudi authorities release a number of imprisoned militants from jail in exchange for the American's release. The Saudi government refused to co-operate. In recent days thousands of Saudi security personnel were reportedly ordered to question suspected militants in a hunt for Mr Johnson.

The group that took responsibility for Mr Johnson's execution called itself the Organisation of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula.

In a statement accompanying the images of the execution posted on an Islamic website yesterday evening, the group referred to Mr Johnson, using his middle name. It said: "In answer to what we promised ... to kill the hostage Paul Marshall after the period is over ... the infidel got his fair treatment.

"... Let him taste something from what Muslims tasted who were long reached by Apache helicopter fire and missiles."

The group is believed to be headed by Abdulaziz Issa Abdul- Mohsin al-Moqrin, accused of being the chief al-Qa'ida figure in Saudi Arabia. The group's statement added: "We, God willing, will continue our road to fight the enemies of God."

At the time of his abduction last weekend, Mr Johnson was employed by the defence giant Lockheed Martin, working on targeting systems for US Apache helicopters. Mr Johnson had worked in Saudi Arabia for the company for more than a decade and he was married to his second wife, Noon.

Reports said that one of the three photographs posted on the internet showed a man's head, face toward the camera, being held by a hand. The other two showed a beheaded body lying prone on a bed, with the severed head placed in the small of his back. The face looked like that of Mr Johnson's.

The beheaded body was reportedly clad in a bright orange suit, similar to those issued to suspected Islamic militants imprisoned by the United States at Guantanamo Bay - and similar to the suit another American captive, Nicholas Berg, was wearing when he was beheaded in Iraq last month by another group of Islamic militants linked to al-Qa'ida.

"To the Americans and whoever is their ally in the infidel and criminal world and their allies in the war against Islam, this action is punishment to them and a lesson for them to know that whoever steps foot in our country, this decisive action will be his fate," the accompanying statement added.

At the home of Mr Johnson's sister Donna Mayeux, media were kept at a distance by police. An American flag and yellow ribbons were hung from the front porch.

On Thursday around 100 local people, among them Mr Johnson's niece and daughter, attended candlelit vigils. "This is our way of showing we care," organiser Joan Redmond-Sprague told reporters.

Mr Johnson's son Paul had earlier pleaded for his father's release. "I just want to ask the president of the United States and the Saudi officials to please make this happen," he told US television network. "Father's Day is right here. Bring my father home for Father's Day."

In Washington, a CIA official said the agency was not able to immediately confirm the report of Mr Johnson's beheading. A Saudi senior security official, reached by The Associated Press, said: "We have so far nothing on this."

Dont all go rushing off to find the pix now....

Mike.

Ronan|Raven

It seems like this will be the new tactic for the activists in Saudi. Perhaps feeling if they can do this to enough hostages they take that it will encourage the foriegn workers holding saudi together to up and leave thus causing a tad of a problem for the ruling powers that be.

mike65

Originally posted by Ronan|Raven
It seems like this will be the new tactic for the activists in Saudi. Perhaps feeling if they can do this to enough hostages they take that it will encourage the foriegn workers holding saudi together to up and leave thus causing a tad of a problem for the ruling powers that be.

It'll be a problem for all of us - Saudi oil only gets out of the ground with westerners input (estmated that 50% of all workers are foreign)

You'd think (if you did'nt know Saudi society) that they could do it themselves but they wont as so much is considered beneath them.

Mike.

Sand

Well, the US and the Saudis could never agree to the terrorists demands, so the poor guys fate was always going to be in the hands of the terrorists, and sadly theres not the slightest trace of humanity there.

There is immense pressure to get westeners out of Saudia Arabia anyway - The prophet commanded that there should never be any religion other than Islam in the penninsula and organised the deportation of Jews and Christians to accomplish this. Hence, western Christian blow ins were and arent popular with the Saudi masses who historically are the most devout/fundamentalist/fanatical Muslims around.

And Saudia Arabias wealth is dependant on mineral resources rather than its economy as such so its never had to develop the rule of law, property rights and most importantly education that would allow them to exploit the oil resources themselves. The House of Saud has only tolerated western involvement because of the huge oil revenues - which isnt trickling down to the masses so they have no similar reason to get liberal with the prophets commands.

If the Saudis cant guarantee Westerners safety theyll withdraw, fecking both the Saudis economy and the rest of the worlds whilst theyre at it. The house of Saud is pretty much doomed, which isnt wholly bad as its not liberal or democratic - it is however barely keeping the lid on much worse. Interestingly, if the situation continues to deterioate there, it may become another Iraq, forcing the US to get involved just as its trying to close up shop in Iraq.

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by Sand
The prophet commanded that there should never be any religion other than Islam in the penninsula and organised the deportation of Jews and Christians to accomplish this.

Are you sure about this?
There was a Christian and Jewish population in most Islamic countries around/after his time, he even signed a treaty with the Jewish tribes in Medina

Sand

Yeah, quite certain. The deportation was fairly..... benign for the era in that it was carried out over several years but it was carried out. And I never said that they were cleansed from most Islamic countries, but from the Arab Peninsula which is the heartland of the Islamic faith - this is the area where the Prophet said there should never be two religions. One can assume he didnt intend for Islam to be the one to leave.

The House of Saud historically was the champion of a fanatical muslim sect which persecuted other muslims for being apostates ( being an apostate is worse than being an infidel - theres always the chance you or I, despite being infidels, will see the error of our ways and convert to islam, whereas an apostate, who becomes a muslim, and then rejects his faith must be killed). The area has traditionally been the center of the most extremist groups - most/all of the fundamentalists would now consider the House of Saud and their agents to be apostates by collaborating with the West. Same for any other middle Eastern leader, or any leader who attempts to introduce modernisation or social reform. I always though Sadat was murdered for making peace with the Israelis, but his murderer killed him because he was an apostate - he shouted when he was arrested that he had killed Pharoh, the Islamic figure for an unjust and tyrannical pagan opposing Gods Chosen people - which displays some overlap with the Jewish faith but not enough. The House of Saud are now Pharoh for their enemies and for a large proportion of their subjects.

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by Sand
And I never said that they were cleansed from most Islamic countries,

Wasn't saying you were
I've just been doing some reading on that part of history, haven't seen much mentioned about that.
I'll keep reading.