American Beheaded in Iraq as Torture Backlash Grows

Other Breaking News Nicholas E. Berg, 26, traveled to Iraq late last year in search of work. He did not find a job but instead was taken captive by Islamic terrorists. His decapitated body was discovered by American soldiers on a roadside in Baghdad on Saturday. Mr. Berg's father said that the terrorists who beheaded his son may have known that he was Jewish. "There's a better chance than not that they knew he was Jewish," Mr. Berg told The A.P. "If there was any doubt that they were going to kill him, that probably clinched it, I'm guessing." Read here for more Parents of a US contractor executed by Islamic militants in Iraq are saying that US authorities had contributed to the tragedy by unlawfully detaining their son for nearly two weeks before his disappearance.Michael Berg claimed yesterday that his son, Nick, was held by US authorities without access to a telephone or lawyer because of suspicions that he was an insurgent or terrorist. By the time he was finally released in early April, according to Mr Berg, the security situation had so deteriorated that it was difficult for him to make his way home. "That's really what cost my son his life, the fact that the United States government saw fit to keep him in custody for 13 days without any of his due process or civil rights," Mr Berg said.An official familiar with the case acknowledged that FBI agents had interviewed Mr Berg, but said he was in Iraqi - not American - custody. The official was unable to clarify the legal difference between the two, given the US occupation.But Mr Berg's father disputed this, saying it was "the FBI", when asked in a radio interview who had detained his son."We named Rumsfeld as the responsible person, and I still hold him responsible," Mr Berg said. "It's the whole Patriot Act. It's the whole feeling of this country that rights don't matter any more because there are terrorists about," he added. Read here for more

by
Andrew Buncombe and Justin Huggler

The Independent (UK)

12 May 2004

A group linked to al-Qa'ida released a video last night showing five of its members beheading an American businessman in Iraq, in what it said was revenge for the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail by US troops.

The man's body was found dumped in Baghdad.

The poor-quality video, posted on a website often used by the group, shows the men wearing scarves and ski-masks and standing over the American before cutting off his head with a large knife.



The man identifies himself as Nick Berg and is heard to scream as he is slain.

The release of the video by the group, Muntada al-Ansar, will add to the already considerable pressure facing the Bush administration as it seeks to deal with the political fallout of the prisoner abuse scandal.

Mr Berg's parents from West Chester, a suburb of Philadelphia, confirmed that US authorities had informed them their son's body had been recovered from an overpass close to a highway in Baghdad on Saturday.

Michael and Suzanne Berg said they had been told their son had been decapitated but they had no idea a video of the killing existed or would be released.


Nick Berg

On the video, Mr Berg, 26, who owned a communications equipment company and went to Iraq seeking contracts to rebuild antennas, is heard saying:

"My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael, my mother's name is Suzanne. I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah. I live in ... Philadelphia."

He is seen sitting bound on a white chair wearing an orange jumpsuit, similar to those worn by prisoners in US jails. After he read the statement, the masked men are seen pulling Mr Berg to one side and then putting a large knife to his neck.

A scream sounds as one of the men cuts off his head, shouting "Allahu Akbar". The executioner then holds the decapitated head out in front of the camera.

A statement read out by one of the men on says:

"For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the US administration to exchange this hostage with some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused.

"So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins ... slaughtered in this way.

How can a free Muslim sleep well as he sees Islam slaughtered and its dignity bleeding, and the pictures of shame and the news of the devilish scorn of the people of Islam - men and women - in the prison of Abu Ghraib?"

In Washington, the State Department confirmed the body of a US citizen, identified as Mr Berg had been found in Baghdad.

The official said Mr Berg had no ties to the military but offered no further details and did not comment on the group's claim it had offered to exchange him for Iraqi prisoners.

Suzanne Berg said the authorities had been of little help to her and the family had been forced to hire a private investigator. "I went through this with them for weeks," she said.

Michael Berg said they had been told in advance their son had been decapitated. "I knew he was decapitated before. That is preferable to a long and torturous death. But I didn't want it to become public," he said.

He blamed the Bush administration for creating circumstances that led to his son's death.

He said that if his son had not been detained for so long, he might have been able to leave the country before the violence worsened. I think a lot of people are fed up with the lack of civil rights this thing has caused," he said.

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