German hostage freed in Iraq
{{date|December 18, 2005}}

The [[w:Germany|German]] archaeologist [[w:Susanne Osthoff|Susanne Osthoff]], who was abducted in [[w:Iraq|Iraq]] on November 25th, has been freed. 

Her brother told [[w:n-tv|n-tv]] that she had been brought to the German embassy in [[w:Baghdad|Baghdad]] and is well. Foreign minister [[w:Frank-Walter Steinmeier|Frank-Walter Steinmeier]] confirmed the reports and said that her Iraqi driver, who was abducted along with her, is still in the hands of the kidnappers but they have promised to release him as well.

How she was freed, whether ransom was paid, or even which group abducted her is still unknown at this time. Steinmeier declined to answer any questions on the topic.

The captors demanded that the German government breaks off diplomatic relations with Iraq, which it has refused to do.

Osthoff had been living in Iraq since 1991. She is a converted Muslim and married to a Jordanian. Her 12-year old daughter is living in Germany. In recent years Osthoff became more and more involved with delivering aid to the Iraqi people. She was featured on the front page of the [[w:New York Times|New York Times]] in 2003 [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50811F63D550C708EDDAC0894DB404482] and appeared in a series about her work in the German daily [[w:Süddeutsche Zeitung|Süddeutsche Zeitung]].

==Related Stories==
*{{Wikinews|title=German, Iraqi driver abducted in Iraq
|date=November 29, 2005}}

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,391151,00.html|title=Osthoff ist frei|author=|pub=Der Spiegel|date=December 18, 2005}}.
*{{source|url=http://www.n-tv.de/614472.html|title=Susanne Osthoff ist frei|author=|pub=n-tv|date=December 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://de.news.yahoo.com/18122005/3/aussenminister-steinmeier-bestaetigt-freilassung-susanne-osthoff.html|title=Außenminister Steinmeier bestätigt Freilassung von Susanne Osthoff|author=|pub=dpa|date=December 18, 2005}}
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[[Category:Iraq]]
[[Category:Germany]]
[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Baghdad]]

[[de:Susanne Osthoff ist frei]]
[[ru:Сюзанна Остхофф освобождена]]
The German archaeologist Susanne Osthoff, who was abducted in Iraq on November 25th, has been freed. 

Her brother told n-tv that she had been brought to the German embassy in Baghdad and is well. Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed the reports and said that her Iraqi driver, who was abducted along with her, is still in the hands of the kidnappers but they have promised to release him as well.

How she was freed, whether ransom was paid, or even which group abducted her is still unknown at this time. Steinmeier declined to answer any questions on the topic.

The captors demanded that the German government breaks off diplomatic relations with Iraq, which it has refused to do.

Osthoff had been living in Iraq since 1991. She is a converted Muslim and married to a Jordanian. Her 12-year old daughter is living in Germany. In recent years Osthoff became more and more involved with delivering aid to the Iraqi people. She was featured on the front page of the New York Times in 2003  and appeared in a series about her work in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Iraq Germany Crime and law Politics and conflicts Baghdad