Six of the fifteen British military personnel freed by Iranian authorities Thursday, are seen during a news conference at the Royal Marines Barracks in Chivenor, Devon, southwest England, Friday April 6, 2007. From left to right, Royal Marine Joe Tindell, 21, Arthur Batchelor, 20, Royal Marine Captain Chris Air, 25, Lieutenant Felix Carman, Royal Marine Adam Sperry, 22, and Simon Massey.The 15 British sailors and marines returned home Thursday after 13 days in captivity. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
While in Iranian custody, the televised remarks of the British sailors and marines were strikingly different from the stories the released hostages told on Friday, safely back in the U.K.
In Iran:
Nathan Thomas Summer: Since we were arrested on March 23, 2007, everything has been OK and I am quite satisfied with the current conditions. Over the past days, Iranian forces have shown us a very friendly and good behavior and no ill treatment has been observed.
We trespassed without permission. (Summers added he knew that Iran had seized British military personnel who strayed into their waters three years ago.)
This happened back in 2004 and our government said that it wouldn't happen again. And, again, I deeply apologize for entering your waters.
Faye Turney: "My name is Faye Turney. I come from England, I live in England at present. I have served on F99. I have served in Navy nine years, I was arrested on Friday on 23rd of March which obviously has passed internal waters.
I was treated friendly and hospitable they are nice people, they explained why we were arrested, and there is no aggression, no hurt, no harm, they are very very compassionate.
Chris Air: We’ve been treated very well and we thank you for that.
Felix Carman: I’d like to say to the Iranian people, I can understand why you are so angry about our intrusion into your waters.
Iranian president Mr. Nice Guy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad patted himself on the back for treating the Brits so wonderfully. He even conveyed his hope that Tony Blair wouldn't prosecute them for telling the truth.
What a thoughtful guy!
WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!
Read what some of the hostages had to say about their time in captivity.
Felix Carman: On arrival at a small Iranian naval base we were blindfolded, stripped of all our kit and led to a room where I declared myself as the officer in charge and was introduced to their local commander.
Two hours later, we were moved to a second location and throughout the night were subjected to random interrogation.
The questions were aggressive and the handling rough, but it was no worse than that.
The following morning, we were flown to Tehran and transported to a prison - where the atmosphere changed completely.
We were blindfolded, our hands were bound, we were forced up against the wall. Throughout our ordeal we faced constant psychological pressure.
Later, we were stripped and dressed in pyjamas. The next few nights were spent in stone cells approximately 8ft by 6ft, sleeping on piles of blankets.
All of us were kept in isolation. We were interrogated most nights and presented with two options.
If we admitted we had strayed, we would be back on a plane to the UK pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison.
We all, at one time or another, made a conscious decision to make a controlled release of non-operational information.
Joe Tindell: We thought we were going to the British embassy but we got taken to a detention centre, all 15 of us.
We had a blindfold and plastic cuffs, hands behind our backs, heads against the wall. Basically there were weapons cocking. Someone, I'm not sure who, someone said, I quote, 'lads, lads I think we're going to get executed'.
After that comment, someone was sick and as far as I was concerned he had just had his throat cut.
From there we were rushed to a room, quick photo and then stuffed into a cell and didn't see or speak to anyone for six days.
Chris Air: [Faye Turney] was separated from us as soon as we arrived in Teheran in the detention centre, and isolated in a cell well away from any of us.
She was told shortly afterwards that we'd all been returned home, and was under the impression for about four days that she was the only one there.
So clearly, she was subjected to quite a lot of stress that we, fortunately, didn't know about, and we weren't subjected to ourselves.
She coped admirably and retained a lot of dignity.
Clearly, the British sailors and marines were not treated well by the Iranians. Their captors weren't friendly and compassionate. The Brits' televised confessions and their praise for the Iranians were made under duress.
ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England -- British sailors and marines held captive in Tehran for nearly two weeks were blindfolded, bound and forced against a wall as guards cocked weapons, members of the freed crew said.
Their confessions to entering Iranian waters were coerced, and their smiles for state television were a propaganda stunt, they said in interviews Friday and at a news conference at barracks in southern England.
The 15 sailors and marines, who were freed Thursday and reunited with family, faced constant psychological pressure and the threat of up to seven years in prison if they did not say they strayed into Iranian waters, members of the crew said.
"At some points I did have fears that we would not survive," Operator Maintainer Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest sailor among the crew, told The Associated Press in an interview.
The hostages faced "constant psychological pressure" and were threatened.
Yes, those Iranians are such gracious hosts!
By the way, has the Great Satan U.S. made propaganda videos of detainees and broadcast the footage globally?
That would be NO.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's office refused to comment on the claims the sailors made about conditions in Iran, but the White House said the allegations of ill-treatment were disappointing.
What's the deal? Obviously, there was one.
Blair must have agreed to keep his comments to a minimum or stay mum altogether.
It seems a betrayal of sorts for Blair to fail to acknowledge the hostages' revelations.
At least the White House spoke out.
"If what they described is accurate, then that would not seem to be appropriate behavior and action," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. He said it would be "unfortunate and extremely disappointing" if the sailors had been "treated inappropriately in any way."
Johndroe's statement hinges on "if."
He's criticizing the Iranians without directly accusing them of wrong-doing.
Pretty wimpy.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the Britons' release on Wednesday, which suggested Iran's hard-line leadership had decided it had shown its strength, but did not want to push the standoff too far.
However, Iran never got the public apology it sought for the crew's purported entry into Iranian waters. Britain insists it never offered a deal and said the crew never entered Iranian territory.
Iran's official Al-Alam television broadcast parts of the news conference, but without sound — a newscaster said the Britons had "retreated from their confessions."
"They made statements completely different from what they had said in Iran and claimed that they were in Iraqi waters when detained," the TV newsreader said.
An unidentified in-house "political analyst," called the sailors' news conference "a show."
"British military officials dictated it," said the analyst, who spoke to TV by telephone and was identified only by his family name, Zaraei.
A conspiracy!
Has Rosie O'Donnell weighed in on this?
Does she buy the Iranians' story that British officials told the sailors what to say, that they were pressured into retreating from the confessions they made in Iran?
It wouldn't surprise me.
This relatively brief hostage situation reveals with absolute certitude that Ahmadinejad and his regime are dangerous thugs and willing to take the West to the brink.
It shows that there are Americans eager to believe that the U.S. cooked up the crisis to justify military action against Iran.
It shows that Tony Blair's backbone isn't as strong as it once seemed.
Maybe most disturbing of all-- The Iranians can hold the world hostage with impunity.
Not good.
No comments:
Post a Comment