Man rescued from Taliban: I thought my captors were kidding when they said Trump was president

[Abdul]

A Canadian man rescued from a Taliban-linked group in Afghanistan last week said he thought his captors were joking when they told him Donald Trump had been elected president of the United States.

Joshua Boyle and his wife, Caitlin Coleman, were kidnapped and held by the Haqqani network—whose leader is the deputy head of the Afghan Taliban—for five years and one day.

Boyle and Coleman were rarely given any information on the outside world during their time in captivity. They didn't even know Justin Trudeau was prime minister of Canada, for example, until after they were rescued. But when Boyle was forced to participate in a "proof-of-life" video, one of the captors told him Donald Trump had been elected president. At the time, Boyle essentially took this comment as a joke.

"It didn’t enter my mind that he was being serious," Boyle told the the Toronto Star.

Boyle and Coleman were kidnapped while hiking in Afghanistan in late 2012. Coleman was pregnant at the time and the couple ended up having two more children while in captivity. All five were rescued by Pakistani forces working off intelligence gathered by the U.S. A number of the kidnappers were killed during the rescue operation, but some got away.

Boyle has a harsh view of his captors, calling the Haqqani "people who have no relationships in life that are not purely mercenary."

"They have no real friends, only cohorts. They have no wives, children," he added. "Those we met who were not orphans spoke of hating their parents."

He and his family were severely mistreated during their time in captivity and Boyle is calling for his all kidnappers to be brought to justice.

The group that captured Boyle and Coleman—the Haqqani network—was also responsible for the kidnapping of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl after he walked off from his unit under mysterious circumstances. Bergdahl, who was held in captivity for five years, was released after being traded for five top Afghan Taliban commanders by the U.S. government. Bergdahl pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior on Monday.

http://www.newsweek.com/man-rescued-taliban-didnt-believe-trump-was-president-685861

 

[Black Zero]

Sad for the couple but they failed to answer that what were they doing in afghanistan...

 

[MenInG]

A Canadian man who was held captive by a faction of the Afghan Taliban for five years has been arrested on 15 charges including sexual assault, illegal confinement and issuing death threats, according to reports on Tuesday.

Joshua Boyle was freed by the Pakistan Army in October along with his American wife Caitlan Coleman and their three children born in captivity.

The identity of the alleged victim was being withheld by a court, according to Boyle's lawyer Eric Granger.

Granger added his client was “presumed innocent” and had never been in any form of legal trouble before.

“We look forward to receiving the evidence and defending him against these charges,” he said, adding Boyle would appear before a court in Ottawa on Wednesday.

According to news channel CTV, Boyle is facing eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of unlawful confinement, as well as one each of misleading police to “divert suspicion from himself,” uttering a death threat, and administering a noxious substance, Trazodone.

Court documents acquired by the Toronto Star say the alleged offences occurred in Ottawa between Oct 14 and Dec 30.

In a statement to the Toronto Star, published on the newspaper's website, Boyle's wife would not comment on the specific charges.

"I can’t speak about the specific charges, but I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this.

"Obviously, he is responsible for his own actions... but it is with compassion and forgiveness that I say I hope help and healing can be found for him. As to the rest of us, myself and the children, we are healthy and holding up as well as we can."

Boyle and Coleman, who have been married since 2011, were kidnapped by the Taliban during what they described as a backpacking trip through war-torn Afghanistan in 2012, and were later transferred to the custody of the Haqqani faction.

They were freed on October 12, but refused to board a US military plane.

Boyle, a Muslim convert and long-time advocate of freed Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr, cited fears over his background.

Upon his arrival in Toronto two days later Boyle accused his captors of raping his wife and killing his baby daughter, a fourth child ─ allegations swiftly refuted by the Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Mujahid admitted a baby had died but said it was a result of a natural miscarriage.

A month later Coleman also spoke of a sexual “assault” by two of her captors in an interview with ABC news.

Boyle has been an outspoken advocate for Omar Khadr, a Canadian captured at the age of 15 in 2002 in Afghanistan and held at Guantanamo Bay before being transferred to Canada and later released. He married Khadr's sister in 2009.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1380534/f...yle-arrested-for-15-charges-including-assault

 

[Napa]

In his interview after his rescue, he also bad-mouthed his captors as not Muslims but "Pagans". As someone who some Christians may consider a "Pagan", I find it rather believable that this self-righteous *** would turn out be an abuser.