Boyle, 33, who is Canadian, and Coleman, his 31-year-old American wife, have been held by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network since October 2012. They were kidnapped near Kabul, Afghanistan, during a backpacking trip through Central Asia.
Coleman says the video was made Dec. 3, and is surprisingly blunt in her criticism of both her kidnappers and the governments that have failed to free her family.
“We understand both sides hate us,” she says, appearing to read from a prepared script. “And are content to leave us and our two surviving children in these problems.
“But we can only ask and pray that somebody will recognize the atrocities these men carry out against us as so-called retaliation, in their ingratitude and hypocrisy. My children have seen their mother defiled.”
There have been other videos of the couple, including one posted directly to YouTube four months ago in which they warned they would be killed if the Afghan government did not stop executing Taliban prisoners. The video’s release coincided with an Aug. 29 Afghan court decision that sentenced Anas Haqqani, the son of the group’s founder, to death for his role in helping to raise funds for the network.
The Haqqani network — which has a strong presence in both Afghanistan and Pakistan — is closely aligned with the Taliban and its members are among the world’s most skilled kidnappers.
In past videos, the couple have appealed to the Afghan, American and Canadian governments, since Boyle is a Canadian citizen. But this time they address only the U.S. and Afghanistan, begging the two to “reach an agreement.”
“Obama, your legacy on leaving office is probably important to you, and our lives and those of our children are to us,” Coleman says. “So please don’t become the next Jimmy Carter. Just give the offenders something so they and you can save face and we can leave the region permanently.”
Coleman is likely referring to the failed attempt by Carter in 1980 to release Americans held hostage in Iran.
To U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, she says: “They want money, power, friends. You must give them these things before progress can be made. A five-year hostage-taking is too long and indicates failure on every side.”
Boyle also speaks to the camera saying that his captors “will not settle this until they get what they’re demanding.”
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...dren-seen-in-just-released-taliban-video.html
Coleman says the video was made Dec. 3, and is surprisingly blunt in her criticism of both her kidnappers and the governments that have failed to free her family.
“We understand both sides hate us,” she says, appearing to read from a prepared script. “And are content to leave us and our two surviving children in these problems.
“But we can only ask and pray that somebody will recognize the atrocities these men carry out against us as so-called retaliation, in their ingratitude and hypocrisy. My children have seen their mother defiled.”
There have been other videos of the couple, including one posted directly to YouTube four months ago in which they warned they would be killed if the Afghan government did not stop executing Taliban prisoners. The video’s release coincided with an Aug. 29 Afghan court decision that sentenced Anas Haqqani, the son of the group’s founder, to death for his role in helping to raise funds for the network.
The Haqqani network — which has a strong presence in both Afghanistan and Pakistan — is closely aligned with the Taliban and its members are among the world’s most skilled kidnappers.
In past videos, the couple have appealed to the Afghan, American and Canadian governments, since Boyle is a Canadian citizen. But this time they address only the U.S. and Afghanistan, begging the two to “reach an agreement.”
“Obama, your legacy on leaving office is probably important to you, and our lives and those of our children are to us,” Coleman says. “So please don’t become the next Jimmy Carter. Just give the offenders something so they and you can save face and we can leave the region permanently.”
Coleman is likely referring to the failed attempt by Carter in 1980 to release Americans held hostage in Iran.
To U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, she says: “They want money, power, friends. You must give them these things before progress can be made. A five-year hostage-taking is too long and indicates failure on every side.”
Boyle also speaks to the camera saying that his captors “will not settle this until they get what they’re demanding.”
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...dren-seen-in-just-released-taliban-video.html