Video of Abducted BBC Journalist Alan Johnston
On June 1, 2007, Islamist websites posted a five-minute video of abducted BBC journalist Alan Johnston, produced by the Palestinian organization Jaysh Al-Islam, which has taken responsibility for his kidnapping. In the video, Johnston first states that he is being treated well by his abductors. Next, he says that during his three-year stay in the region, he has witnessed the extreme suffering caused by the Israelis to the Palestinian people, and adds that the situation in Iraq is even worse. He also mentions Afghanistan, and denounces Britain's military cooperation with the Americans. In the last part of the video, Jaysh Al-Islam reiterates its demand that the British government release all the Muslim prisoners in its custody, first and foremost Abu Qatada Al-Falastini.
The clip can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lmAtazuadY
Below is an image from the video:
Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi Declares Hunger Strike in Jordanian Prison
On June 1, 2007, Islamist websites reported that Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi[1] declared an indefinite hunger strike five days ago, to protest against his "illegal arrest" in July 2005 by the Jordanian authorities,[2] and his detainment since then without an indictment. Al-Maqdisi demanded to be brought before a National Security court.
[1] Al-Maqdisi is regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the global Salafi jihad movement, and as the spiritual mentor of the late Al-Qaeda in Iraq commander Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi. He was arrested on July 5, 2005, only one week after the end of his previous incarceration.
[2] It should be mentioned that, according to Al-Jazeera TV reports, Al-Maqdisi began his hunger strike two weeks ago.
