Austrian tells of life as hostage in Yemen
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN Austrian man held hostage for five months in Yemen said he was kept in permanent darkness in a room too small to stand up in and was forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint.
At one point, Dominik Neubaur told Austrian magazine News, he was taken out for what he thought would be his execution - but believed he was spared after he recited verses from the Quran.
"I heard a weapon being loaded and felt its muzzle on the back of my head," he said in his first interview since his release a week ago.
Neubaur, a 26-year-old student of Arabic, and two Finns were kidnapped by tribesmen in Sanaa on December 21, and were later sold to al-Qaida, according to the Yemeni government. The three were freed on May 9.
The Austrian said he did not know how his release had come about. Both Austria and Finland have denied paying a ransom.
The three hostages disappeared from view after their capture until a video appeared on YouTube in February in which Neubaur, with a rifle pointed at his head, said he would be killed if ransom money were not paid to a Yemeni tribe within a week.
Neubaur said he believed he was taken to be killed when that deadline expired, but changed their mind for some reason.
He said he and the Finns were separated in March.
During his captivity, Neubaur said he was given dirty water to drink and little more than rice to eat, and his hands and feet were bound with cables.
"It was a tiny room, divided by bedsheets. The Finns were in one corner and I was in the other. In between, I saw, was our guard - armed," he said.
Neubaur said the kidnap, which took place in an electronics store, appeared to have been unplanned. The Austrian said the kidnappers' car was so small that one sat on his lap, holding a weapon to his head.
At one point, Dominik Neubaur told Austrian magazine News, he was taken out for what he thought would be his execution - but believed he was spared after he recited verses from the Quran.
"I heard a weapon being loaded and felt its muzzle on the back of my head," he said in his first interview since his release a week ago.
Neubaur, a 26-year-old student of Arabic, and two Finns were kidnapped by tribesmen in Sanaa on December 21, and were later sold to al-Qaida, according to the Yemeni government. The three were freed on May 9.
The Austrian said he did not know how his release had come about. Both Austria and Finland have denied paying a ransom.
The three hostages disappeared from view after their capture until a video appeared on YouTube in February in which Neubaur, with a rifle pointed at his head, said he would be killed if ransom money were not paid to a Yemeni tribe within a week.
Neubaur said he believed he was taken to be killed when that deadline expired, but changed their mind for some reason.
He said he and the Finns were separated in March.
During his captivity, Neubaur said he was given dirty water to drink and little more than rice to eat, and his hands and feet were bound with cables.
"It was a tiny room, divided by bedsheets. The Finns were in one corner and I was in the other. In between, I saw, was our guard - armed," he said.
Neubaur said the kidnap, which took place in an electronics store, appeared to have been unplanned. The Austrian said the kidnappers' car was so small that one sat on his lap, holding a weapon to his head.
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