Hostage release may be imminent
Cynthia Banham and Geesche Jacobsen
536 words
30 May 2005
The Sydney Morning Herald
First
3
English
© 2005 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited.
www.smh.com.au Not available for re-distribution.
The Sydney Muslim leader Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly believes the release of Australian hostage Douglas Wood could happen soon, and the sheik was preparing to head back to Iraq last night in hope of swapping places with the engineer.
Mr Wood's captors have moved him to ensure he is not hit by a stray shell or bullet, according to Sheik Hilaly, who spoke yesterday to his Sydney contact, the president of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Keysar Trad.
Mr Trad said Iraqi tribal elders had assured the sheik that 63-year-old Mr Wood was safe.
Sheik Hilaly - who was in a capital city outside Iraq - believed negotiations with Mr Wood's captors were "reaching a focal point" and he was heading back to Iraq at the request of a number of local religious scholars, who believed the Australian was about to be freed.
Mr Trad said the sheik had also told him over the weekend that he believed Mr Wood's life had been spared, while that of a Japanese hostage apparently had not, because of the appeals made on his behalf by the Muslim community.
Yesterday, insurgents in Iraq released a video showing a bloodied body, apparently of a Japanese hostage, and said he had died from gunshot wounds received in an ambush. The body is believed to be that of a Japanese security contractor, 44-year-old Akihiko Saito, who was seized in Iraq about 20 days ago. [Full story - Page 16]
Mr Wood, who suffers from a serious heart condition, was captured a month ago in Baghdad by a group calling itself the Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Iraq. The sheik soon after travelled to Iraq to try and lobby for his release.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, asked about the sheik's comments about Mr Wood's future, said: "I don't think it is helpful for me to give running commentary.
"This is a very delicate situation. I appreciate the good will and the positive efforts of anybody who is trying to help the poor man.
"And the best way I can help is to be careful what I say."
A spokesman for the Wood family, who live in Canberra, Melbourne, and the US, said "we are very grateful for anything the sheik can do for Douglas's release as we are for anything the Government is doing".
Meanwhile, Australian consular officials have made their first visit to an Australian being held in a Kuwaiti jail on charges of joining a terrorist organisation, planning to kill foreign forces, and possessing and importing firearms.
Bruce Billson, the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs and trade, said Tllaal Adrey, who has been in the custody of state security in Kuwait since February, told two Australian consular officials he had been tortured during his detention, and that he had been beaten and his finger and toe nails had been pulled.
Mr Billson said the consular officials had observed that there was "slight damage" to one of Mr Adrey's nails, but that he was "in good health".
