an interview with the Arabic television news channel Aljazeera.
A previously unknown group calling itself "Swords of Truth" has threatened to kill the men unless Iraqi detainees in US and Iraqi detention centers are released by Thursday, December 8.
"Throughout his life he bravely fought against all kinds of injustice," said Pat Kember in English with her words dubbed in Arabic.
"He went to Iraq to help the Iraqi people to stop the spread of abuse and to understand the situation in order to make Iraq a safer place. Please release Norman and his colleagues so that they can continue their work for the sake of peace in Iraq," she added.
"They are friends and allies who want to help you to overcome evil by engaging in a humanitarian action."
RETIRED PROFESSOR
Kember, a 74-year-old retired professor, was kidnapped last month along with two Canadians and an American with whom he represented the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an international conflict resolution group.
The other three hostages were identified as American Tom Fox, 54, a father-of-two from Clearbrook, Virginia and Canadians James Loney, 41, a community worker from Toronto, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, an electrical engineer and squash coach.
CPT director Rich Mayer made a similar plea for the men’s release on Aljazeera TV on Saturday, December 3, saying they were working to help free Iraqi prisoners.
"CHRISTIAN SPIES"
The militants posted a video last month of the four men sitting cross-legged on the ground and accused them of being "spies working for the occupying forces" under the guise of a Christian group.
CPT denied the accusations and urged the kidnappers to release the hostages. "We fear that whoever is holding them has made a mistake. These four men are peacemakers, not spies. CPT has consistently opposed the war and the continuing presence of multinational forces in Iraq," said the group in a statement.
"We are distressed that those who have taken our friends, Harmeet, Tom, Norman and Jim, could try and bargain with their lives," stressed CPT, one of the few aid groups still active in volatile Iraq.
FAMILIES WORRIED
"We want to understand why they would do such a thing. The taking of lives in any circumstance is against every thing we stand for. Please, whoever is holding them, release them all unharmed. Their families are very worried about them and we want their safe return home."
More than 200 foreigners have been seized since the U.S-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and around 50 have been executed since 2004. Meanwhile on Sunday, December 4, an anti-war envoy is continuing to meet with Sunni Muslim groups in Iraq in a bid to secure the release of the four men.
Some have already called for their release and Iraq’s largest Sunni party, the Iraqi Islamic party, said the kidnapping tarnished the image of Islam. "The kidnapping will have a grave negative effect among those who call for ending occupation," it reportedly said.
ENVOY IN IRAQ
Envoy Anas Altikriti was sent to Baghdad by the Muslim Association of Britain, Stop the War and CND, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported. He told the BBC as an Iraqi he appreciated the country’s situation.
"It’s a very very dangerous situation, there can be no question about it, but I come as an Iraqi, someone born in Iraq, and therefore, I’m at home," he said.
"And therefore I’m joining in, riding the same boat that 23, 24 million Iraqis have been in for the past two-and-a-half years and the very same situation that Mr Kember – quite nobly, him and his colleagues – accepted to enter themselves, in order to carry out this noble mission."
CPT’s Regional Group Development Coordinator, Sara Reschly told BosNewsLife earlier that she was "am happy that they are alive." Despite the difficulties and threats Reschly said "we are hopeful they will be released soon." (With BosNewsLife Chief International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos and reports from Iraq)
