Fears grow over fate of detained westerners
Families forced to leave loved ones behind
Special report: Afghanistan
Special report: terrorism in the US
Stuart Millar
Tuesday September 18, 2001
The Guardian
Fears are growing for the safety of eight foreign aid workers
detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban on charges of preaching
Christianity.
John Mercer, the father of one of two American women being
held, said yesterday that the Taliban had refused his offer to
trade places with his 24-year-old daughter, Heather.
He also said that nothing had been heard of the aid workers
since their families left Kabul last week in the wake of the
terrorist attacks in the US.
Mr Mercer said: "We are very concerned about our girls and
anxious to get them out. We still don't know the charges."
He said that his offer to the Taliban to trade places with his
daughter still stood: "It is a very serious offer."
The eight detainees are now thought to be the only western
workers left in the country. The Taliban had advised all foreigners
to leave, saying it could not guarantee their safety.
All UN and non-governmental aid groups, which provide basic
services in a country devastated by two decades of war, have
been withdrawn over the last six days.
The families of the eight detainees were forced to join the
exodus.
Nancy Cassell, the mother of American detainee Dayna Curry,
29, said yesterday: "If you have a child and you have to leave
them in a situation like that, it's heartbreaking."
The group also includes four Germans - Georg Taubmann, Katrin
Jelinek, Margrit Stebner, and Silke Durrkopf - and Australians
Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas.
The eight were arrested, along with 16 Afghan staff, in early
August while working for Shelter Now International, a Christian
charity based in Germany.
The charges against them could carry the death penalty.
The Taliban allowed Mr Mercer to hire a lawyer to represent the
eight during the trial, but he has not yet been granted a visa to
enter Kabul, he said.
The eight had been held in custody for five weeks - during which
they had virtually no contact with the outside world - before they
were paraded before a Taliban court on September 8, just three
days before the attacks in the United States.
Although they looked strained and exhausted, their court
appearance was a relief to their families, who had waited in
Kabul for almost two weeks to see them.
An official from the Taliban said last week that it would try to
protect the eight if the US attacked Afghanistan.
Nothing has been heard of the 16 Afghan employees since their
arrest, although the Taliban said that they had denied converting
to Christianity, a crime which also could be punishable by
death.
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