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Ex-hostages say Taliban beat them for refusing to convert

1 day ago

SEOUL (AFP) — Some of the South Korean Christian aid workers held hostage by Afghanistan's Taliban said they were beaten for refusing to convert to Islam and protecting female captives, a hospital chief said Monday.

"We found through medical checks that some male hostages were beaten," Cha Seung-Gyun told reporters after the 19 freed aid workers -- 14 women and five men -- underwent examinations at a hospital outside Seoul.

They had returned home Sunday after six weeks in captivity.

"They said they were beaten at first for refusing to take part in Islamic prayers or for rejecting a demand to convert," Cha said.

The disclosure was likely to increase public sympathy for the ex-hostages, mostly in their 20s and 30s, following increasing criticism of what was seen as a reckless trip to a war-torn devoutly Islamic nation.

President Roh Moo-Hyun on Monday ordered that the former captives repay some of the costs of their rescue, which followed a deal between South Korean government negotiators in Afghanistan and the hardline Islamic insurgents.

The hospital chief said two male hostages, Je Chang-Hee and Song Byung-Woo, were beaten or threatened with death whey they refused to move out of a dugout shelter and leave some of their female colleagues behind.

But Cha said medical checks on the women showed no signs of rape, and they did not report having been sexually assaulted.

The aid workers repeatedly apologised after arriving home early Sunday. They were taken to Sam Anyang General Hospital south of the capital for check-ups.

Cha said the men had fully recovered and no longer showed external signs of their beatings. He did not say how many of the hostages had been assaulted.

A pastor from the Saem-Mul Presbyterian church which organised the ill-fated mission said Sunday that some male hostages had been "severely beaten" for refusing to embrace Islam.

The pastor, Park Eun-Jo, also said some of the women had been "at risk of being sexually assaulted."

Cha said six or seven female hostages showed symptoms of insomnia and depression, and expressed worries about their lives after being released from hospital.

"Some patients require a close look and intensive care and treatment," he said, adding they are still suffering from shock after learning upon their release that two male hostages were murdered in July.

The ex-hostages need about two weeks of treatment, he said.

The church group undertook the trip in defiance of foreign ministry warnings. Before departure it was pictured posing with an airport notice warning against travel to the Central Asian nation.

"By ignoring the government's warning and rashly carrying out a mission in a politically unstable Muslim country, the captives have laid a great burden on their country," JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said.

"By violating international principles and directly negotiating with a terrorist group, our country has invited censure from other countries. Korean churches cannot escape the scathing criticism that their aggressive missionary work put the lives of several innocent young people in dire jeopardy."

The group was abducted on July 19. The Taliban murdered two men last month to press their demands that some Taliban prisoners be freed in exchange for the Koreans, a condition rejected by Kabul.

After starting talks with Seoul officials, the Taliban on August 13 released two women. They freed the remainder of the hostages last Wednesday and Thursday.

Seoul agreed in return to withdraw its 210 non-combat troops by year-end, as previously scheduled, and to stop trips by its missionaries to Afghanistan.

It has denied foreign media reports that a ransom was paid to the Taliban.

Ex-hostages say Taliban beat them for refusing to convert (http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ixqD9dQCC6kV6O6uwkF79RUu-DGw)

May God Bless those men and women who refuse to be imitated by islam. Those are our brothers, and sisters in Christ!!

 
AMEN!!   God Bless them!!

as a newcmer to this board, i find that signature 'if you do not like...' to be highly offensive, non-christian and clearly not what the Bible teaches a believer to do or say.  if you are trying to influence people for Christ, that is not the way to do it.  being christian does not mean you place a few words in a pledge, or on money it means picking up your cross and following him.

Hello Archaelogist,

WELCOME!


First, I'll help you out and say that your user name isn't spelled correctly - it's "Archaeologist".

Second, I like the signature you're talking about, so we can agree to disagree. If you don't like it, don't look at it.

If you have something more worthy to say that fits better with what you think is right or politically correct, there's plenty of room on the forum for it. However, as a word of advice, if you are here to stir things up from word go, you won't be here long. You can take this any way you wish, but you can also consider it to be a WARNING!

Well this is a Christian board archaeologist. Christianity is the only subject that is allowed on this forum.

You don't know why I have that in my sig-line line do you??

I am a Christian first, I am a American second. I think you need to learn about me, before you question me.  See you have already passed judgment on me before you know anything about me. I'll tell you this, I have fought many battles against islamic, hinduism and buddhism.

I see you don't capitalize the "C" in Christian.  So I can see that English isn't your first language.

Pledge, money, or any where else that we are able is an excellent place to proclaim the name of Jesus to the world.

Hello newcomer to this board, I see that your first post is not one that is very loving. I would have first asked what the sig line indicates before passing judgment on any one here.

Not only are we Bible believing Christians, but we are also patriotic and we pray for our country, we are very proud of our country and we love our country. Apparently so do a lot of other people from many different parts of the world. That is why we are called a melting pot. However there are those that want to harm not just Americans, but Christians in particular.

I would like to remind you of one thing that perhaps you and a few million other people do not know. There are many who want to hurt Americans, America, and most of all Christians. America is in a spiritual warfare right now, all wars have been mostly due to religion. The wars going on right now are either because of religion or greed. So we are proud of our "Stars & Stripes"

I would also like to remind you that being a Christian means to love your brother and not be his judge:

 Ro 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

For archaeologist:

(http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b207/tinabaran/fun%20things/images.jpg)



(http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b207/tinabaran/116446471384694.gif)

I just read the signature line being spoken of.....while it is not something I would feel led to do, I guess I just overlook it.  But I can understand what archaeologist is meaning....that some guests here (perhaps from other religions) might take it the wrong way.  If people are offended by the cross, that is one thing.....but we should be careful not to offend in unneccessary ways, as Ambassadors for Christ.

Unfortunately no matter what may be said or how it is said there will always be those that will be offended. One such example is that no matter how much we say that God loves all people and wants them to be saved the second we then say that homosexuality is a sin we have just turned away many people.

I fully understand Brother Bob's sig line. This has been a nation where freedom of religion has been dominate and now there are so many that to make it a theocracy of atheism or islam. This is exactly what is being said. If people don't like freedom of religion then they need to stay where they are (in another nation) or to move to where they can have it the way they want it. If that is offensive then I will be offensive as I will continue to speak out in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ no matter how much they may dislike it.

Brothers and Sisters,

I honestly believe that being politically correct, tip-toeing through the tulips, and being wimpy is one of our biggest problems. People are lost and going to hell because of this problem. Withholding the truth is many times extremely cruel in this evil world we live in.

We've also paid a horrible price for being wimpy and worried about calling sin SIN, evil EVIL, and wrong WRONG. If everyone hasn't noticed, everyone has rights now but Christians, and it's getting worse by the day. We have rights also, and we need to exercise them. We also need to do everyone a favor and tell them the blunt TRUTH. Being wimpy and politically correct is turning this entire hemisphere into a sewer, and I - for one - no longer wish to be politically correct. I also don't plan to worry about hurting someone's feelings about being blunt on RIGHT AND WRONG.

The truth of the matter is REAL SIMPLE these days. Nobody wants to be told they're doing something wrong or sinning. They want to make the wrong accepted and something to be proud of. They don't want any authority - CERTAINLY NOT GOD telling them they are sinning. SO, it stands to reason that they want Christians to shut up and make them feel good about their wallowing in sin. WELL, this is cruel and WRONG for a Christian to do this. If they don't like to hear the TRUTH - TOUGH! - TOO BAD! Knowledge of sin is still the first step for Salvation.

SO, I won't be quiet until JESUS takes me home. The devil isn't going to like me at all, and I'm glad that he doesn't. Calling evil GOOD is WRONG, and SILENCE is many times doing just that. I think that WIMPY Christians need to wake up and realize there isn't much time left. What do you want to worry about most - hurting someone's feelings or them going to hell? Pray about it and do as you are convicted to do. I've already done that and feel led to QUIT BEING A WIMP AND TELL THE BLUNT TRUTH! I won't be popular with the world, BUT I don't want to be popular with the world, NOR do I want to conform to this world. THE TIME IS GROWING SHORT!