Kidnappers of BBC correspondent

Times Online reported THE mastermind behind the kidnapping of Alan Johnston, the BBC correspondent, is an experienced terrorist who fought with Al-Qaeda alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.... The kidnappers expressed bizarre resentment that Johnston, 45, had done nothing to thank them for their hospitality while they held him at gunpoint in a tiny cell. “We used to give him everything he wanted,” Abu Zobayer, an aide to Dagmoush, said.

You gave him everything he wanted? What about freedom? Did he ever ask you to let him go?

“We spent £70 on his food every week. The Matouk restaurant [one of the best eateries in Gaza] got rich because we had to feed him.”

If you had freed him you could have pocketed the money, like most of the Fatah and Hamas leaders.

Johnston has said that he fell ill from the food he was served. Zobayer commented: “It’s not our problem that we gave him everything and he only ate a little.”

If a little made him sick, a lot might have killed him.

Although they did not torture him physically, the kidnappers seemed to have no concept of the psychological torture they were inflicting on the BBC correspondent. “We had people with him all the time to try to help him to relax,” said Zobayer.

Were they armed? Having someone pointing a gun at you is not very relaxing.

“We gave him a radio so that he could listen to his own channel. I myself sat with him to try to make him feel comfortable and feel that he will be released.”

I suspect he would have rather been home sitting with his own family.

Betsy Newmark blogged How rude of him not to appreciate all that the kindnappers were doing for him.

Jeff Hall blogged I'm no expert, but I imagine that Muslims believe that lying is a sin,

Actually Muhammad said "war is deceit" - Bukhari 4:52:267

like murder and suicide,

Which Satan their Allah seems to condone.

so I guess Mr. Abu is telling the truth. Otherwise, one might suppose there was some other reason why they had someone with Alan Johnston all the time.

They did not want him to be lonely. Also maybe they were stealing food from his £70 a week trays from "one of the best eateries in Gaza"