Wife of British captive Alan Henning pleads for his release
(IraqiNews) Alan Henning, 47, a former taxi driver and a volunteer aid worker from Manchester, England, was captured last December near the town of al-Dana in Syria by ISIS militants. He was shown at the end of a video last week following the beheading of fellow British captive David Haines.
His wife, Barbara Henning issued a statement through the UK Foreign Office, said: “I am Barbara Henning the wife of Alan Henning. Alan is a peaceful, selfless man who left his family and his job as a taxi driver in the UK to drive in a convoy all the way to Syria with his Muslim colleagues and friends to help those most in need.”
“When he was taken he was driving an ambulance full of food and water to be handed out to anyone in need. I cannot see how it could assist any state’s cause to allow the world to see a man like Alan dying.”
“I have been trying to communicate with the Islamic State and the people holding Alan. I have sent some really important messages but they have not been responded to. I pray that the people holding Alan respond to my messages and contact me before it is too late. When they hear this message I implore the people of Islamic State to see it in their hearts to release my husband Alan Henning.”
During an interview, Barbara told Sky News that, “the UK government really hasn’t been there to support us. We didn’t know where he was and we didn’t know what had happened to him. I appreciate that there are sensitivities around the issue and the government has to be seen to be doing something behind the scenes. But we had nothing, no idea what had happened to Alan until that video aired evening on Saturday 13.”
Muslims groups in the UK have called for the release of Henning. And last week, Muslim authorities and organizations across Britain, that are highly critical of British foreign policy and blame Britain’s interference for fanning the recent crisis in the Middle East and particularly in Iraq and Syria, called for Henning’s release.
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