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Great White North

Somali Kidnapper Gets 15-Year Sentence

2018-06-20

[RADIOSHABELLE] A Somali man has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for his role in the kidnapping of a Canadian journalist in Somalia, according to Canadian media. Ali Omar Ader, 40, was found guilty in December on a charge of hostage-taking charge for his involvement as a negotiator in the kidnapping. Ader was incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! in Ottawa in 2015 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Amanda Lindhout and Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan were taken hostage near Mogadishu in 2008. The sentence was handed down on Monday in an Ontario Superior Court. During his trial, prosecutors claimed that Ader was the primary negotiator for the forces of Evil who captured the pair. Ader repeatedly pressed Ms Lindhout and Mr Brennan’s families for ransom money, the court heard. Lindhout and Mr Brennan were taken hostage at gunpoint while working on a story about displaced persons camps near the Somali capital. They were held captive by an unidentified myrmidon group for 460 days before being released in November 2009. They have described having been brutally assaulted, tortured, and nearly starved during their captivity. Almost seven years after the pair’s release, RCMP Sherlocks managed to lure Ader to Canada under the pretence of signing a publishing contract for a book on Somalia’s history. It was the culmination of a lengthy international undercover operation. As Mr Brennan is not a Canadian citizen, Ader did not face any charges in Canada related to his kidnapping. But the photographer did give his victim impact statement in court ‐ later posted online ‐ where he asked the judge to show Ader clemency. "I believe that forgiveness is the one thing that will keep humanity moving forward," he said.

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Great White North

Somali man found guilty in kidnapping of Canadian journalist

2017-12-11

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Somali national has been convicted in an Ontario court for his role in the 2008 kidnapping of Canadian Amanda Lindhout, who was held captive in Somalia for 460 days and released only after her family paid a ransom, Canadian media reported on Wednesday. Ali Omar Ader, 40, was found guilty of one charge of hostage-taking for his role as negotiator for the kidnappers, in a decision handed down on Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa. Lindhout, a freelance journalist, was taken hostage in Somalia on Aug. 23, 2008, along with Australian photographer Nigel Brennan, while working on a story. They were released for ransom in November 2009. Ader was lured to Canada from Somalia in 2015 and placed in durance vile Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! in Ottawa as part of a sting operation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in which an officer posed as a publisher interested in a book Ader was writing on Somalia, according to court documents. The kidnappers were affiliated with Hizbul Islam, according our archives. Hizbul Islam (Party of Islam) appeared on our radar in 2009 as the Al Qaeda-linked merger of four Islamist factions including Eritrea-based ICU and Kismayo-based Ras Kamboni. They fought Al Shabaab tooth and nail until giving up and merging at the end of 2010.

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Great White North

Canada Arrests Somali for Alleged Role in Kidnapping of Amanda Lindhout

2015-06-13

[NBCNEWS] Canadian police have jugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! a Somali national for what they say was his role in the 2008 hostage-taking in Somalia of two freelance journalists, Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Friday they arrested Ali Omar Ader in Ottawa on Thursday. RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia told news hounds the arrest followed extraterritorial undercover operations, but he would not say whether the Somali government had been kept informed. Ader was one of the main negotiators during the 15 months the two journalists were in captivity, Malizia said. He said Ader had been in Ottawa for a few days. Upon their release for ransom in November 2009, Lindhout and Brennan recounted having been beaten, tortured and nearly starved. Lindhout and Brennan were kidnapped on Aug. 23, 2008. Lindhout told the Toronto Star after her release that her kidnappers were Islamic fundamentalists affiliated with the Hizbul-Islam murderous Moslem group. Brennan tweeted the following message after news of the arrest: "Amazing news of the arrest of Ali Omar Ader, aka Adan the Somali criminal involved in my kidnapping. Finally Justice will be served!"

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Africa Horn

Aussie hostage recounts his ordeal in Somalia

2011-06-29

Daily beatings and prayer five times a day for over a year were all part of Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan's suffering at the hands of a Somalian gang after a 2008 kidnapping. What saved Brennan were the efforts of his family, who never gave up on him and took the lead in negotiations to obtain his release. Days after arriving, Brennan and Canadian documentary maker Amanda Lindhout were taken and held for $3.16 million - money their families had to find, since neither the Australian nor Canadian government will ransom their citizens. Knowing their relatives could not pay that much money, the two converted to Islam at the suggestion of one captor that their lives might be spared if they did so -- resulting in days of religious instruction, regular prayers, and reading an English translation of the Qur'an. Escape attempts were unsuccessful, one try ending when Lindhout couldn't manage to slip through the bars of a window. The two the next day managed to get into a nearby mosque. Brennan said, "We knew it would be full and we could get help from the Muslim community." But as soon as they entered the mosque, a warning shot rang out over their heads and chaos broke out. They were soon surrounded by gun-toting thugs. "Amanda was dragged out and about 20 seconds later I heard a single gunshot fired and actually believed she'd been killed," said Brennan. Brennan was pistol-whipped, kicked down to the ground and punched and believed he would be killed on the spot. The next ten months until their release were spent near starvation, and they were kept shackled. Back at home, Brennan's sister Nicky became the main hostage negotiator, with help from the Australian police. With the aid of an Australian businessman, everything finally came together and roughly $650,000 was paid for Brennan. After 462 days, the two were freed at last. Brennan says he would return to the war-torn nation if things stabilised. He said, "I would really love to see an improvement in Somalia. I would love to see the world media take a little bit more action in what's happening because local journos are being killed like flies.

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Africa Horn

Somali gunmen free two journalists

2009-11-26

Photojournalist Nigel Brennan and Canadian freelance reporter Amanda Lindhout have been released in Mogadishu after 15 months of captivity. The journalists were freed on Wednesday night and were with police and Somali lawmaker Botan Isse Alin in a hotel in Mogadishu, the Press TV correspondent reported, noting that it is unclear whether the ransom was paid for their release. There is an unconfirmed report that a ransom of $1million had been paid to the hostage-takers for the two journalists. In August 2008, Brennan and Lindhout were kidnapped along with their Somali driver and two Somali guards while traveling southwest of Mogadishu. Brennan told Reuters by phone from the hotel that he had been tortured physically and mentally. He said that after a failed attempt to escape, he was kept in chains and had been totally isolated from Lindhout for the past 10 months. Journalists and humanitarian workers are frequently abducted for ransom in Somalia, one of the world's poorest countries. Yet they keep going there ...

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Africa Horn

Kidnapped Australian & Canadian appear in Al Jazeera video

2008-09-17

Footage of Australian journalist Nigel Brennan and a Canadian companion kidnapped in Somalia has been aired on Al Jazeera television. The broadcaster said the pair had urged their governments to do all they could to secure their release, Reuters reports. Mr Brennan, 35, Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, 27, and their translator and guide, Somali reporter Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, were kidnapped at gunpoint on August 23 just outside the Somali capital Mogadishu. They are believed to have been abducted after interviewing and taking photographs in a refugee camp. Australian Federal Police and extra diplomatic staff have been sent to Somalia to investigate the kidnappings. The footage, aired on Tuesday, showed Mr Brennan and Ms Lindhout along with armed men. Ms Lindhout could be seen speaking to the camera but the audio of the track was not aired, Reuters reports. Their kidnappers, calling themselves the Mujahideen of Somalia, accused Australia and Canada of helping to destroy Somalia and demanded an end to such policies, Al Jazeera said. A traditional chief in contact with the kidnappers said earlier this month that the kidnappers were demanding a $US2.5 million ($A3.08 million) ransom. "The kidnappers demanded 2.5 million dollars and we are trying to secure their release," said Dahir Farah, who has been participating in negotiations to free the hostages. Another person claiming to be an intermediary for the kidnappers who contacted AFP spoke of the same ransom demand. He also allowed two people claiming to be the foreign journalists to speak briefly. A man claiming to be Mr Brennan said: "We are very well now mentally and physically."

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