Freed Journalist: I Was Forced To Make Anti-U.S. Statements
Carroll Expected To Arrive In Boston Sunday
POSTED: 11:09 pm EST March 31, 2006
UPDATED: 5:35 pm EST April 1, 2006
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Freed hostage Jill Carroll said her captors forced her to make statements critical of the United States and that she cooperated only because she felt threatened.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, Carroll said she was being held by what she called "criminals" and wanted to go home alive.
"During my last night of captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me they would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and I wanted to go home alive. So I agreed," her statement said.
Carroll said her statements didn't reflect her personal views.
"Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not," said the freelance writer for the Christian Science Monitor who was held in captivity for 82 days.
Carroll said her captors put her through a horrific experience and devastated the family of the translator they killed.
"Let me be clear: I abhor all who kidnap and murder civilians, and my captors are clearly guilty of both crimes," the statement said.
Carroll also asked for time to heal, and time to be alone with her family.
Carroll will arrive on U.S. soil Sunday morning, according to officials in Massachusetts.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority said a flight carrying Carroll is expected to land at Logan International Airport in Boston late Sunday morning.
Carroll was in Germany at Ramstein Air Base on Sunday.
The Islamic headscarf and full-length robe she had worn as a hostage have been replaced by jeans, a bulky gray sweater and a desert camouflage jacket.
When welcomed by a U.S. officer, she replied, "I'm happy to be here."
Officials at the base, which is located near Landstuhl, said Carroll was expected to leave Saturday for Boston on a flight out of Frankfurt.
However, the exact details of her flight were not immediately confirmed by officials in the United States.
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March 30, 2006: Freed American Journalist Ready To See Her Family
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