The Canadian journalist at the centre of a seven-year probe to find the men who kidnapped and brutalized her for 15 months in Somalia has broken her silence.
“I’m not sure I ever quite believed it would happen,” Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout said in a statement released Sunday morning. She was kidnapped in August 2008 alongside Nigel Brennan, an Australian photographer, and their translator and driver, while working as a freelance journalist in Somalia.
For seven years, Canadian officials have been trying to track the men who took her hostage, and on Thursday they made one arrest: Ali Omar Ader. Police believe he was the “main negotiator” in the journalists’ kidnapping, and Lindhout recalls him terrorizing both her and her family. When the RCMP called Thursday with the news Ader had been arrested in Ottawa, the reporter says she broke down with relief.
RCMPThe RCMP arrested Thursday Ali Omar Ader, who they accuse of taking freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout hostage in Somalia in 2008.
“I was stunned that they’d made the arrest. I was even more stunned that the accused kidnapper was in my home country,” Lindhout said. “I had forgotten to sit down, and my knees gave out. I lay on the floor crying, saying the words, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you so much,’ again and again.”
On Friday the RCMP detailed the sweeping investigation that spanned continents and investigative services. The case could prove an example of just how far Canadian justice can reach and a test for its extra-territorial powers.
“I was, and will always be, humbled by the fact the RCMP has worked so hard on my case all these years, never wavering in its pursuit of my kidnappers,” Lindhout said. She said she was shocked when she first saw a photo of Ader, who she knew as “Adam” and who called her family incessantly to get them to pay out the ransom money.
He was erratic and bullying and fully complicit in my suffering
“I find it difficult to describe what it felt like to see his face again,” Lindhout said of the man suspected of leading her kidnapping. “It brought up anger, fear, confusion, and also—knowing that he no longer poses a threat to me or to anyone else—a sense of relief.”
“He was erratic and bullying and fully complicit in my suffering,” she said, adding he “collected” contact information for their families in order to negotiate a ransom.
He terrorized my mother, phoning her multiple times a day and at all hours
“He terrorized my mother, phoning her multiple times a day and at all hours. He also revealed things about himself, speaking to her about his desire to visit Canada, for example,” Lindhout writes. “At different points, he expressed interest in marrying both me and my mother.”
But, Lindhout said, she’s moving forward and remembers “true power is derived from kindness.”
“In the end, Ali Omar Ader’s fate has nothing to do with mine,” she wrote.
None of the allegations against Ader have been proven in a court of law.
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Read Lindhout’s full statement here:
[blockquote style=”4″]On the evening of Thursday, June 11, I learned that the RCMP had arrested a man named Ali Omar Ader and that the following morning he would be formally charged in connection with my kidnapping in 2008. I was at my home in Canmore when the call came in. My understanding is that it was a few hours after the arrest was made. For more than five years now, I’ve met regularly with a team of investigators from the RCMP as they’ve worked on this case. They’ve been confident all along that they would eventually make an arrest, though it was always clear they were facing difficult and dangerous conditions. I’m not sure I ever quite believed it would happen. There is one agent in particular who has been my point of contact throughout the process, who has invested himself in every step along the way and visited me many times. I can’t reveal his name, but his kindness and commitment to the cause has meant more to me than I can adequately express. On the phone on Thursday evening, calling from Ottawa, he said to me, “Are you sitting down?” There were several RCMP officials on the line as he delivered the news. I was stunned that they’d made the arrest. I was even more stunned that the accused kidnapper was in my home country. I had forgotten to sit down, and my knees gave out. I lay on the floor crying, saying the words, “Thank you, thank you, thank you so much,” again and again. I told them that night how proud I felt to be Canadian. I was, and will always be, humbled by the fact the RCMP has worked so hard on my case all these years, never wavering in its pursuit of my kidnappers. This operation was large and complex and involved many people across several continents. I’m grateful to Canada Border Services Agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and the Australian Federal Police for their assistance. I did not see a photo of Ali Omar Ader until the next morning. I find it difficult to describe what it felt like to see his face again. It brought up anger, fear, confusion, and also—knowing that he no longer poses a threat to me or to anyone else—a sense of relief. In Somalia, I knew this man as “Adam.” He introduced himself to me and my colleague, Nigel Brennan, on the day we were taken hostage. He struck me as educated and comparatively well-off. He spoke English better than most of our other captors and was based in Mogadishu. He was erratic and bullying and fully complicit in my suffering. It was he who collected the contact information for our families and who made most of the calls to them over the course of the next 14 and a half months, demanding that a ransom be paid. He terrorized my mother, phoning her multiple times a day and at all hours. He also revealed things about himself, speaking to her about his desire to visit Canada, for example. At different points, he expressed interest in marrying both me and my mother. His children could sometimes be heard playing in the background of his calls. I’m grateful that this man has been arrested. I am happy that he will be called upon in court to answer for his role in the kidnapping. My healing and recovery, however, has never been contingent on this form of justice. I’ve spent the last couple of days feeling extremely emotional about the arrest, contending with the brutal memories it calls up. But losing my freedom in Somalia taught me a lot about how to get it back. Every day, I make the choice to move forward and to remember that true power is derived from kindness. In the end, Ali Omar Ader’s fate has nothing to do with mine.[/blockquote]
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