Italian Red Cross Saves Terrorists’ Lives
Charles Johnson
Thu Aug 25, 2005 at 8:08 am PDT • Views: 262
The Italian Red Cross made a secret deal to give medical treatment to terrorists: Iraq rebels treated in hostage deal-Italy Red Cross. (Hat tip: Daniel.)
Notice how al-Reuters refers to the kidnapping, ransom-demanding terrorists in this story as “rebels.”
ROME (Reuters) - The Italian Red Cross treated “four presumed Iraqi terrorists” at its Baghdad hospital in order to secure last year’s release of two kidnapped Italian aid workers, a senior Red Cross official was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Maurizio Scelli, the outgoing commissioner of the Italian Red Cross, said the deal to free the two Italian women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, was kept secret from U.S. officials.
“The mediators asked us to treat and save the lives of four presumed terrorists sought by the Americans, wounded in combat. We hid them and brought them to the doctors with the Red Cross, who operated on them,” Scelli told La Stampa daily in an interview.
“We also treated four of their children, sick with leukemia.”
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s office, which has denied previous accusations it paid a ransom to win the aid workers’ release, said on Thursday the Red Cross was independent and did not answer to the government.
“The government of the (Italian) Republic and its offices have never conditioned or influenced (Red Cross) operations which are carried out in full autonomy,” a statement said.
Frank says: