www.pi-media.co.uk
I October 2014
NEWS
I3
Widow of Dr Abbas Khan appeals to IS to release Alan Henning
The widow of Dr Abbas Khan, a British aid worker killed in Syria has called on IS to release Alan Henning. In an audio recorded appeal exclusively published by CAGE in Arabic with an English and Arabic translation, Umm Abdullah appeals to the captors of Alan Henning for his release. Umm Abdullah describes her appeal as ‘a humble call to the men of the Islamic State from Umm Abdullah’. Invoking Allah, she then
goes on to ask IS to recognise that Alan Henning was an aid worker and that they should release him. ‘This is my call to you, in which I beg you in the name of our Almighty to protect Alan Henning and release him. By Allah I cannot see you killing him after he left his joyful world for no purpose other than aiding our Muslim women and children in Shaam [Syria]. She also refers to herself as the widow of a shaheed or martyr
- a status considered lofty in Islam - because of the circumstances surrounding the death of her husband who was a medical doctor and humanitarian aid worker. Her husband Dr Abbas Khan died while in the custody of the Assad regime in Syria. It is widely thought that the Syrian regime were responsible for his death. Cerie Bullivant, spokesperson for CAGE, said: ‘ From a wife who knows exactly what Alan Henning’s wife is feeling, this is a welcome appeal. As Britain moves toward intervening in Iraq and Syria we ask the British public to call on the government to do more to protect its citizens .’ Umm Abdullah has also translated into English an interview between CAGE and Heba al-Debbagh, who was tortured by Syrian state authorities in the 1980s, during a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.