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She should not have a spouse listed; I'm sure that if she married one of her captors under duress, she would not want that union recognized
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it happens, jews don't want to be killed but they don't suppress the Holocaust.
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Revision as of 21:14, 14 August 2015


Kayla Jean Mueller
Born (1988-08-14) August 14, 1988 (age 35)
Prescott, Arizona, U.S.
Diedc. February 6, 2015 (aged 26)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Human rights activist, humanitarian aid worker
SpouseAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi (presumably under duress)
Children0


Kayla Jean Mueller (August 14, 1988 – c. February 6, 2015) was an American human rights activist and humanitarian aid worker from Prescott, Arizona. She was taken captive in August 2013 in Aleppo, Syria, while leaving a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital.

Media had long reported that a 26-year-old American aid worker was being held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) without naming her at her family's request. Her captivity and death were widely reported upon confirmation of her death.

Activism and humanitarian aid

Mueller was a native of Prescott, Arizona, where she graduated from Tri-city College Prep High School. She attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in 2007. She supported a variety of causes at home and abroad, in various areas and with many different services including humanitarian aid, human rights, youth mentorship, environmental activism, journalism, and English teaching. Her human rights activism and humanitarian aid included working in India with Tibetan refugees, supporting Tibet cause.[1] Her work in the Middle East included volunteering for Palestinian humanitarianism with the International Solidarity Movement and helping African refugees in Israel with the African Refugees Development Center.[2][3]

Her activism and humanitarian aid involved work with the following organizations:[2][3]

  • African Refugees Development Center, for whom she volunteered at a summer camp in Israel.
  • America's Promise, an organization which facilitates volunteer action for children and youth
  • Amnesty International, for whom she founded a student chapter at Northern Arizona University.
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a one-on-one youth mentorship organization in the United States.
  • Contact Magazine, a Tibetan publication for whom she served as a journalist and an editor.
  • Danish Refugee Council, for whom she worked to help Syrian refugees in Turkey.
  • Food For Life Vrindavan, a local branch of Food For Life, which provides free food, education, and medical care for those in need in the region, for whom she taught English and kindergarten students.[4][5]
  • Food Not Bombs, during college.[6]
  • International Solidarity Movement, with whom she accompanied Palestinian families and children going to school.
  • Just Peace, a social justice project of United Campus Ministries at Northern Arizona University, with whom she went on a humanitarian aid trip to Guatemala and with whom she advocated against torture and Guantanamo Bay.
  • LHA Charitable Trust in Dharamsala, India, for whom she volunteered as an English teacher.
  • New Day Peace Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, for whom she helped to establish services for veteran students at Northern Arizona University and at Coconino Community College.
  • Northern Arizona University Center for Intercultural Education, which provides services to international students at Northern Arizona University.
  • Plum Village, the French monastery of Thích Nhất Hạnh, for whom she volunteered in the center.
  • Prescott Area Women's Shelter, where she worked during the nights to help meet the needs of homeless women, children, and families.
  • Save Darfur Coalition, with whom she volunteered for three years, for whom she conducted multiple letter-writing campaigns and led two silent walks.
  • STAND, for whom she served as the President of STAND:NAU, a local chapter at Northern Arizona University, as well as the Southwest Regional Outreach Coordinator of the parent organization.
  • Support to Life, an international aid organization, for whom she worked to help Syrian refugees in Turkey
  • Tibetan Hope Center, an organization that helps Tibetan refugees to gain life skills to live independently in India, for whom she taught English and compiled a monthly newsletter.
  • Youth Count, where she volunteered in Prescott, Arizona participating in multiple environmental and inter-generational projects.

Capture and death

Mueller started working in southern Turkey in December 2012, where she was assisting Syrian refugees. On August 3, 2013, she drove to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo with a coworker/friend who was traveling to the Spanish Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Aleppo to work for a day.[7] She worked with international aid agency Support to Life.[8][9] On her departure from Aleppo to return to Turkey, militants abducted her.[10]

According to anonymous sources of American reporter Catherine Herridge, the location of Mueller and other American hostages was known by the White House in May 2014, but a decision on a rescue mission was not made for seven weeks. By that time, the hostages had been dispersed.[11]

A media account affiliated with ISIS released a statement on February 6, 2015 claiming that a female American hostage held by the group was killed by one of around a dozen Jordanian airstrikes in ar-Raqqah, Syria. The statement came just days after the release of a video showing the burning of Jordanian fighter pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh by the militant group and the subsequent execution of Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi and other prisoners of Jordan. The statement was later translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, identifying the hostage as Mueller.[12]

Mueller had been in ISIS custody for 18 months. A US mission to rescue her and several others in northern Syria in July 2014 failed when ISIS moved the prisoners. The US was unaware of her location since, though her family was told negotiations were underway to swap her for Aafia Siddiqui, according to Arizona House Representative Paul Gosar.[13] ABC News and CBS News reported that sources in the intelligence community believe Mueller may have been "given over" to an ISIS commander in a "forced marriage" and the group did not view her as a bargainable hostage. In a letter to her family, she spoke of being healthy, well-fed and treated with the utmost kindness and respect in a safe place. ISIS members corresponding with the Muellers referred to Kayla as their "guest".[14][15]

On February 6, 2015, ISIS published a photo of a damaged building, named Mueller and her home town and alleged she had been killed in a Jordanian airstrike in the building where she was left alone with no guards, but no proof of death was provided.[8] The Pentagon agreed the building was one hit in the bombings, but disputed that Mueller, or any civilian, was inside. The site had been bombed by the coalition twice before, and was targeted again because ISIS soldiers sometimes return to bombed sites, thinking the coalition won't return, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. After this, Mueller's name was released by American and other media with the family's consent.[7][failed verification]

On February 10, 2015, Mueller's family announced ISIS had confirmed her death to them in an e-mail, with three photographs of her dead body, bruised on the face and wearing a black hijab.[16][17] National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said this message was authenticated by the intelligence community. President Barack Obama offered his condolences to Mueller's family.[18]

It is reported Mueller was a personal captive of Abu Sayyaf[19] and was eventually married to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who raped her repeatedly.[20][21][22][23][24][25]

Reactions

Family

Mueller's parents reportedly implored ISIS to contact them as they hoped their daughter may still be alive. "We have sent you a private message and ask that you respond to us privately", Carl and Marsha Mueller said in a statement. They said they had not talked to the media as ISIS warned them not to.[26]

Government

An American official cautioned that without proof of Mueller's death, the statement by ISIS could be a ploy to cause the Jordanians and the rest of the American-led coalition to refrain from any heavier airstrikes.[7]

Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh called ISIS's claim "an old and sick trick" on Twitter. "So they behead innocent #US #UK & Japan hostages & BURN a brave #Jordan pilot ALIVE & now a hostage is killed by an airstrike? Sure! Sick!", he said.[27][28] He further tweeted: "An old and sick trick used by terrorists and despots for decades: claiming that hostages human shields held captive are killed by air raids."[29] Later upon confirmation of Mueller's death he tweeted: "Saddened & angered to hear news confirming killing of #US hostage #kaylaMueller. Yet another ugly example of these terrorists' brutality."[30]

After many Western news outlets cast doubt on the claim of the hostage death and the extremists' ability to identify Jordanian and U.S. made F-16s flying at high altitudes, Jordan dismissed the claim of a killed hostage as an ISIS publicity stunt and a lie, as the group is known for its propaganda techniques.[31]

After Mueller's family confirmed her death, President Obama said "[Mueller] represents what is best about America, and expressed her deep pride in the freedoms that we Americans enjoy, and that so many others strive for around the world." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement saying "ISIL, and ISIL alone, is the reason Kayla is gone."[32]

The Pentagon declined to investigate whether Mueller was killed by the coalition airstrike. Policy dictates the US only investigates reports of civilian casualties when they come from a "credible source", which ISIS is not.[33]

Media

Time magazine named Kayla Mueller as an ideal role model for Millennials, citing her selfless desire to end suffering, her activism, and her humanitarian aid work, praising her desire not to be seen, but to genuinely help people, and lauding her possession of Millennials' positive good qualities of idealism, optimism, and love of families without troublesome qualities also associated with the Millennial generation.[34]

On February 23, 2015 the Mueller family was interviewed on The Today Show by Savannah Guthrie. Carl Mueller expressed his frustration with the Obama administration over the way it conducted negotiations with their daughter's captors and their policy of not paying ransom money for hostages. "We understand the policy about not paying ransom, but on the other hand, any parents out there would understand that you would want anything and everything done to bring your child home," Carl Mueller said. "And we tried, and we asked. But they put policy in front of American citizens' lives. And it didn’t get it changed."[35]

References

  1. ^ Phuntsok Yangchen, US women killed by IS militants a Tibet supporter, Tibetans remember her, Phayul.com February 13, 2015
  2. ^ a b "U.S. idealist Kayla Mueller's road to ISIS captivity went through West Bank". Haaretz. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "About Kayla". For Kayla. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  4. ^ "A tribute to Kayla Mueller". Food For Life Vrindavan. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "ISIS Hostage and Food For Life Volunteer Kayla Mueller Is Killed". ISKCON News. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  6. ^ "Aid Worker Held By ISIS Put Beliefs Into Action, Friends Say", Rhode Island NPR
  7. ^ a b c "ISIS Claims American Hostage Killed by Jordanian Retaliation Bombings". nytimes.com. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "BREAKING: ISIS RELEASES PHOTOS OF FEMALE US HOSTAGE KAYLA MUELLER => Says She's Dead". The Gateway Pundit.
  9. ^ "About Us". hayatadestek.org. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  10. ^ "The Story Of American Hostage (Kayla Jean Mueller) That ISIS Claims Was Killed In The Latest Jordanian Air Raids On ISIS". Walid Shoebat. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  11. ^ Staff (2015-02-10). "Herridge: WH Knew Location of ISIS Hostages, Delayed Rescue Attempt". Fox News. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  12. ^ "ISIS Claims Female American Hostage Kayla Jean Mueller Was Killed In Jordanian Airstrike". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  13. ^ "No plans to save Kayla Mueller, Pentagon says", Politico.com
  14. ^ JAMES GORDON MEEK and RHONDA SCHWARTZ, "Officials: Kayla Mueller May Have Been Given to ISIS Commander", abcnews.go.com, February 10, 2015.
  15. ^ "U.S. believes hostage was given to ISIS fighter as bride," CBS News, February 11, 2015.
  16. ^ "Proof of Death in Hand, Family Honors Hostage", New York Times
  17. ^ "Kayla Jean Mueller, American ISIS hostage, is dead, family confirms". cbsnews.com. February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  18. ^ Ashley Fantz, Pamela Brown and Jason Hanna, CNN (February 10, 2015). "American ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller dead, family says". CNN. Retrieved February 10, 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Naylor, Sean (May 22, 2015). "Exclusive: American Hostage Passed on Chance to Escape". Foreign Policy. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  20. ^ CBS News: "ISIS leader repeatedly raped American hostage, U.S. finds" by Kayla Jean Mueller August 14, 2015
  21. ^ BBC News: "Islamic State leader Baghdadi 'raped' Kayla Mueller" August 14, 2015
  22. ^ Daily Mail: "Islamic State ruler 'kept 26-year-old American air worker as his personal sex slave' before she was killed in February" By Ashley Collman August 14, 2015
  23. ^ Al Arabiya: "ISIS leader raped American hostage, U.S. finds" 14 August 2015
  24. ^ ABC News: "Islamic State Leader Raped American Hostage, US Finds" By KEN DILANIAN August 14, 2015
  25. ^ The Guardian: "Islamic State leader raped Kayla Mueller before death in captivity, officials say" 14 August 2015
  26. ^ CNN News. "Kayla Mueller's parents appeal to ISIS: 'We are still hopeful'". CNN News. Retrieved February 10, 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  27. ^ ABC News. "ISIS Claims Female American Hostage Killed in Airstrike". ABC News. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  28. ^ Nasser S. Judeh. "So they behead innocent #US #UK & #Japan hostages & BURN a brave #jordan pilot ALIVE & now a hostage is killed by an airstrike? Sure! Sick!". Twitter. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  29. ^ Nasser S. Judeh. "An old and sick trick used by terrorists and despots for decades: claiming that hostages human shields held captive are killed by air raids". Twitter. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  30. ^ Nasser S. Judeh. "Saddened & angered to hear news confirming killing of #US hostage #kaylaMueller. Yet another ugly example of these terrorists' brutality". Twitter. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  31. ^ Staff. "Jordan dismisses claim of killed US hostage as an ISIS 'PR stunt'". Business Insider. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  32. ^ Calamur, Krishnadev. "Family Confirms U.S. Hostage Kayla Mueller Dead". NPR. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  33. ^ U.S. Won't Investigate ISIS Hostage's Death, thedailybeast.com; accessed February 15, 2015.
  34. ^ Charlotte Alter. "What Kayla Mueller's Life Reveals About Her Generation". Time. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  35. ^ Kyung Kim, Eun (23 February 2015). "Kayla Mueller's parents: Why we feel ISIS wanted to release our daughter". Today.com. Today News. Retrieved 15 March 2015.

External links

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