20 December 2005: Germans buy release of hostage Susanne Ost

Politics International Politics
1

There are some who remember seeing the body of US Navy Diver Robert Dean Stethem, with the side of his head blown off, being dumped onto the tarmac in Beirut. This SOB will not live long.
Thanks Merkel.

[quote]20 December 2005: Germans buy release of hostage Susanne Osthoff by freeing hijacker and murderer of US Navy Diver

Did Germany release the murderer of US Navy Diver Robert Dean Stethem in order to gain the release of German Susanne Osthoff, who had been held hostage by terrorists in Iraq since November 25?

Credible sources in the Egyptian government, who were involved in the negotiations, have confirmed that this is the case.

Earlier today (Tuesday), it was announced that Mohamed Ali Hammadi had been released by the German government. Hammadi had been convicted and sentenced to life without parole by a German court for his role in the hijacking of TWA flight 847.

Robert Dean Stethem was a 23 year old steelworker and diver with the US Navy when he boarded a flight from Athens to Rome on June 14, 1985, at the conclusion of his assignment in the Middle East.

But ten minutes after takeoff, events took a fatal turn for Stethem. Two men, Hizbullah terrorists, stormed the cockpit with guns. One pulled a pin to a hand grenade, and forced the pilot to divert to Beirut.

The terrorists quickly learned that Stethem was in the US Navy, and was severely beaten. He was finally shot in the head, and his body dumped onto the tarmac in Beirut.

It would be 17 days before the remaining hostages were released.

Hammadi, the brother of Hizbullah leader Abdul Hadi Hammadi, was arrested two years after the event by German authorities. Three others implicated in the hijacking remain on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist list: Imad Mugniyah, Ali Atwa, and Hassan Izz-Al-Din.

In addition to the hijacking of TWA flight 897, Mugniyah has been tied to kidnappings and bombings throughout the world over the past two decades, including the following:

April 18, 1983 bombing of the United States embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people including 17 Americans

October 23, 1983 simultaneous truck bombings against the French paratroopers and US Marine killing 58 French soldiers and 241 Marines.

September 20, 1984, he attacked the US embassy annex building.

Linked to the numerous kidnappings of Westerners in Beirut through the 1980s

2

Hmmm… German news sources speculate about a financial contribution. No one has mentioned a prisoner had been released to free her.

Let me google that up first.

Traditional German policy was not to give in to hostage takers. But it came to an end when a whole bunch of people including whole families had been taken hostages in Indonesia years ago. Money had been paid.

Releasing other terrorist would certainly be wrong. On the other hand the hostage will think differently, sigh.

EDIT:
Indeed, the terrorist came free yesterday, after 18 years in German jails. Actually, a lot of people will be released in Germany after that time for murder or even earlier. BUT the “coincidence” of the two releases is striking. Interesting, German news (Stern.de) is speculating about a connection, but quotes officials denying that.
US has not asked the German governement to get Hammadi, BTW.

EDIT2: IMO Hammadi should still be in jail. Now maybe Germany has opened a door to try to blackmail the governement of Germany to act in favour of terrorists in future cases. And because … of what Hammadi did.

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Mohamed Ali Hammadi is a cold-blooded murderer who should have his ticket punched.

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What a vundeful Christms gift. :s

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According to Germany’s [i]Deutsche Welle:[/i]

[quote]Germany has quietly released a jailed Hezbollah member wanted by the US for killing an American Navy diver. The timing – just days after the freeing of a German hostage in Iraq – has raised uncomfortable questions.

He was sentenced to life without parole. His sentence is one Germany reserves for the most serious and cruel crimes. It is difficult but not impossible to release someone who receives such a sentence after 15 years. Hamadi served 19 years of his sentence.

Hamadi, now in his late 30s, was captured in 1987. German officials had tried unsuccessfully in the late 1980s to use him as a bargaining chip to free German hostages held in Lebanon.

…a Lebanese source told Reuters that a senior German intelligence officer visited Damascus early this month but did not disclose the purpose of the trip. Syria is a key backer of Hezbollah and Hamadi’s brother, Abdul-Hadi, was a senior security official of the group.[/quote]

dw-world.de/dw/article/0,214 … 31,00.html

Yep…things have [i]really[/i] changed with Merkel in.

[quote]Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss[/quote]

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[quote=“Comrade Stalin”][quote]Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss[/quote][/quote]yes…but…WE WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN!..

…uh…sure…

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[quote=“Comrade Stalin”]Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss[/quote]

Well, the old German (Schroeder) governement just gets criticized heavily for having cooperateed with US for the abduction of a German citizen of Arabian origin and having him … interrogated … in a backwater “fun” camp.

Seems the German gov played an active role and gave a lot of hints to CIA.

So … this is entirely a new style and I doubt anti-American ideas are behind hit, such as Schroeder had displayed frequently.

US citizen should take into consideration that German law system considers 15-25 years as the usual punishment for heavy murder.

I do not want to excuse this though …

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[quote=“bob_honest”]
US citizen should take into consideration that German law system considers 15-25 years as the usual punishment for heavy murder.[/quote]

We’ll remember. Don’t worry.

But think about it. [i]Who[/i] are you going to trade the next time some dumbass gets kidnapped by Muslims?

BTW: I see Germany acquitted another Nazi bastard for mass murder. the German justice system is a thing to behold.

[quote]MUNICH, Germany (AP) – An 88-year-old man was acquitted of murder Monday in three Nazi massacres in Slovakia at the end of World War II.

Ladislav Niznansky showed no reaction as the verdict was announced at the Munich state court. Presiding Judge Manfred Goetzl did not immediately detail reasons for the acquittal on charges related to massacres in early 1945 after a failed uprising against Slovakia’s Nazi puppet government.

A former Slovak army captain who at first supported the 1944 revolt, Niznansky changed sides after his capture and took charge of the Slovak section of a Nazi unit code-named Edelweiss that hunted resistance fighters and Jews.[/quote]

edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europ … crimes.ap/

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[quote=“Comrade Stalin”][quote=“bob_honest”]
US citizen should take into consideration that German law system considers 15-25 years as the usual punishment for heavy murder.[/quote]

We’ll remember. Don’t worry.

But think about it. [i]Who[/i] are you going to trade the next time some dumbass gets kidnapped by Muslims?[/quote]

Yes, that is the worry I had also expressed above. Giving in to terrorists does not pay off. So even if this guy would have been released anyway in the next 5 years or so (not sure about that), he should not have been released NOW. But the tempation was probably too big for Merkel to resist, to solve her first big crisis quickly.

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[quote=“bob_honest”]
Yes, that is the worry I had also expressed above. Giving in to terrorists does not pay off. So even if his guy would have been released anyway in the next 5 years or so (not sure about that), he should not have been released NOW. But the tempation was probably too big for Merkel to resist, to solve her first big crisis quickly.[/quote]

Well in that case she’s even stupider than I thought.

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I don’t want to see this turn into a "bash Germany " thread.
They are an important ally in the WOT.
And the East German archives have been a grand source of intel.

And Grenzschutzgruppe-9 are the Good Guys.

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stethem.navy.mil/stethem.asp

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Hammadi is a terrorist zealot who was duly tried and convicted. Only a fool would let him out on the streets again.

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Hammadi is a terrorist zealot who was duly tried and convicted and released in accordance with the German legal system, like it or not (probably not, I don’t like it either).

According to Spiegel Online, Colin Powell contacted Joschka Fischer in 2001 to prevent Hammadi’s release after 15 years in jail (15 years being the earliest possible release date for someone serving a “lifelong” sentence in Germany). Fischer allegedly wrote a letter to the court in charge of Hammadi voicing his concerns. The court decided not to release Hammadi then but determined he could be released and deported after 19 years.

On November 30th, the court now in charge of Hammadi decided to release him. This decision came at the end of a lengthy process during which it was determined he had shown good conduct and no longer posed a danger. Susanne Osthoff had disappeared only 5 days before.

In light of this information, I think it is highly unlikely that there is some sort of connection between Osthoff’s and Hammadi’s release. It looks like a simple coincidence. Of course, there’s a remote chance it was a more complicated coincidence and the kidnappers actually asked for Hammadi’s release, not knowing he was to be released anyway. :wink:

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The U.S.has a warrant out for his arrest which Germany, our “ally”, refused to honor.

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Um… and the stupid ex-hostage Susanne Osthoff now stated she has been treated nicely and would want to go back to Iraq to resume her work as an archeologist.

Next time, the German gov should send a CD “20 great party hits” and a sixpack of Becks Beer, if she gets captured again.

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Osthoff is a complete nutcase. She gave an interview to a german tv station dressed up like an Afghani women in a Burka or something. I wonder if she ever wanted to be released in the first place.

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She certainly is strange. She also did not contact her parents after her release …before Christmas :astonished:

She is one of those leftwing nutcase environmentalist multi-culti extremists I guess … um … let us forget my last statement please, as Fred is not here anymore.

19

This is how she (Susanne Osthoff, the ex hostage) appeared on German TV. She later said she could not take off the scarf or burqua or whatever because her face was all blue from the color of that garment.

OK, she seems a very confused lady now, wanted to bring her own daughter to “an Arabian country”, but she rejected. Ah yes, she is a converted muslim.

Appearing like this, she looks like SHE wants to take some hostages…

Her parents now want to sue the German BKA (like federal police) for NOT bringing the daughter to an Arabian country as promised. :loco: Not sure if they mean Osthoff or her daughter… who cares. A whole bunch of nuts. Hope they did not really release HAMIDI for THIS lady.

20

I’m shocked. Simply shocked.

From Reuters:

[quote]
Report says ransom money found on Osthoff

BERLIN (Reuters) - Part of the ransom money alleged to have been paid by the German government to win the freedom of Iraq hostage Susanne Osthoff last month was found on Osthoff after her release, the German magazine Focus said on Saturday.

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 matched those used by the government to pay off Osthoff’s kidnappers, the magazine said.

Efforts to contact Osthoff for comment through her mother and a friend failed.[/quote]

tinyurl.com/ddnag