David Haines (aid worker)

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David Haines
Born
David Cawthorne Haines

1969 or 1970[1]
DisappearedIdlib, Syria
Statuspresumed dead
Diedc. 13 September 2014 (Aged 44)
NationalityBritish
Occupationhumanitarian aid worker

David Cawthorne Haines (1969 or 1970–c. 13 September 2014) was a citizen of the UK and a hostage of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant whose life had been threatened by Jihadi John in the Steven Sotloff beheading video. A video titled "A Message to the Allies of America" purportedly showing Haines being beheaded was released on 13 September 2014.

Early life and education

Haines was born in East Yorkshire. He was 44 years old father two from Perth, Scotland.[2][1]

Career

The aid worker has been cited as "having experience" with the military. He had been working as a humanitarian aid worker since 1999, helping victims of conflict in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East. In 2012, he did security work for Nonviolent Peaceforce, a civilian peacekeeping group in South Sudan.[3]

Abduction

At the time of his abduction in early 2013, the aid worker was in Syria working as security for an aid group, ACTED, assessing refugee camp locations in the north of the country. He was kidnapped in early 2013 in northeastern Syria, near the Atmeh refugee camp near the Turkish border and the Syrian province of Idlib.[1] He was seized along with an Italian aid worker and two Syrians who have since been freed.[1]

Rescue attempt

After the surfacing of the Steven Sotloff execution video, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that the aid worker was one of the intended targets of the 2014 American rescue mission in Syria.[4] The mission failed reportedly because the jihadist group had moved the hostages prior to the arrival of American commandos.[4] Mr Hammond suggested that Britain could launch another rescue attempt to recover the captured Briton.[4]

Appearance in hostage video

The abduction of the aid worker came to worldwide attention after being shown at the end of the Steven Sotloff execution video. The video was discovered on September 2, 2014 by SITE Intelligence Group, purportedly ahead of its intended release by Al-Furqan Media Productions.[5] The individual was shown with Jihadi John and was said to be the next possible victim of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS). At the end of the Steven Sotloff beheading video, Jihadi John is shown holding a named British humanitarian aid worker by his orange jumpsuit saying "We take this opportunity to warn those governments that enter this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone."[6]

Execution video

The video title "A Message to the Allies of America" showing Haines, 44, being beheaded was released on 13 September, 2014. Similar to the previous beheading videos of journalists James Wright Foley and Steven Sotloff, the video opens with a clip of a press conference of UK Prime Minister David Cameron.[2] Next it has Haines delivering a prepared speech, followed by a scene of the Haine's body with his dismembered head on top. The 4th UK hostage, British citizen Alan Henning, is shown at the end.[7]

International response

The day after the Steven Sotloff execution video surfaced, British Prime Minister David Cameron told the House of Commons: "I am sure the whole House, and the whole country, will join with me in condemning the sickening and brutal murder of another American hostage, and share our shock and anger that it again appears to have been carried out by a British citizen. All our thoughts are with the British hostage and his family. Their ordeal is unimaginable."[8] He concluded: "A country like ours will not be cowed by these barbaric killers. If they think we will weaken in the face of their threats, they are wrong. It will have the opposite effect. We will be more forthright in the defence of the values, liberty under the rule of law, freedom, democracy that we hold dear."[1]

The British Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) has been working to "take extremist material off the internet" and has removed over 28,000 pieces of "unlawful terrorist-related content" between December 2013 and August 2014.[9]

Some British media were not naming the victim at the request of the family; however, he has been named and pictured around the world.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Robinson, Nick (3 September 2014). "British hostage: PM says UK will not be 'cowed' by threats". BBC News. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b Holmes, Oliver (14 September 2014). "Islamic State video purports to show beheading of UK hostage David Haines". Reuters. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Profile of British hostage David Haines". BBC. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d "British hostage whose life is threatened in latest ISIS execution video was subject of failed rescue attempt by US special forces". Daily Mail. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Inside the private intel group that scooped and 'embarrassed' ISIS" (video). MSNBC. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  6. ^ "IS jihadi group beheads US journalist Steven Sotloff". Big News Network.com. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Botelho, Greg; Pearson, Michael; Taylor, Phillip (13 September 2014). "ISIS executes British aid worker David Haines; Cameron vows justice". CNN.com. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  8. ^ "PM's statement to Parliament on opposition to ISIL terrorism". gov.uk. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Iraq: UK government response". gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
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