18 June 2004

by Anai Rhoads

E-mail this article

VerianaMedia.org - Al Qaeda went through with their plan of killing the American hostage Friday, despite passionate pleas made by family members for his safe release.

The deadline for Saudi Arabia to release imprisoned militants was greatly ignored by the Saudi government since Paul M. Johnson Jr.'s initial capture on 12 June. Al Qaeda militants did not hesitate to behead the 49 year-old American engineer after demands were not met in the 72 hour period assigned.

Photographs of the beheading, and what is believed to be the head of the American man, was posted on the Al Islah website. The head of the defence contractor was positioned on the back of his body and photographed several times at different angles.

"As we promised the mujahideen, we have beheaded the American hostage Paul Marshall after the deadline that the mujahideen gave to the tyrannical Saudi government passed," read the statement on the website.

"This is God's voice rising in anger, at the treatment of Muslims in Abu Ghraib, Al-Hair, Guantanamo, Ruwais and others."

The letter was signed by the "Organisation of Al Qaeda", a group located in the Arabian Peninsula.

"It's really tragic. These kinds of brutal acts do not help anybody," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday.

"My sympathies go to his family and loved ones, and I hope the perpetrators will eventually be brought to justice, because we cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour in today's world," he added.

John Kerry responded to the murder, saying, "My prayers and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Paul Johnson. Americans are united against the terrorists who committed this abhorrent act against an American civilian in Saudi Arabia. It is essential that we have the full cooperation of the Saudi government in tracking down these terrorists and destroying al Qaeda. This must be our nation's highest priority."

Johnson's brutal kidnapping and beheading follows another similar incident, making him the second of such crimes this year. Nicholas Berg was the first to be displayed and slaughtered for the same cause earlier this year.

Related Stories:

E-mail Confirms U.S. Capture of Berg

Iraq: Video of Beheaded American Released

©2004 Veriana Media Reproduction must be authorised in writing only, and altering the material and this copyright is prohibited and protected by international law.