Canadian journalist relives Somalian ordeal

Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout has said the abuse she experienced at the hands of captors in Somalia took a devastating emotional toll. Lindhout and Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan were taken hostage near Mogadishu in 2008. They were held captive by an unidentified militant group in Somalia for 460 days before being released in November 2009. BBC News reports that Somali national Ali Omar Ader was found guilty in December for his involvement as a negotiator in the kidnapping. Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Smith ruled that Ader was a ‘willing participant’ in the kidnapping. A report on the Globe and Mail site notes that the judge found little to believe in Ader’s testimony, saying it did not support his claim that he was forced into serving as a negotiator and translator on behalf of a gang who threatened to harm him and his family. In an Ottawa courthouse, Lindhout said her time as a hostage, and the abuse she suffered, left her with severe anxiety, depression and nightmares. ‘I was a damaged woman no one could love,’ she told the court. In 2015, the Canadian authorities lured Ader to Ottawa on the pretext of signing a lucrative book-publishing deal, leading to his arrest. Crown prosecutors believe this is the first time a foreign hostage-taking has been prosecuted in a Canadian court. The sentencing hearing continues.