Ex-French Hostage: ISIS Captives Don't Know They're About to Die
Tuesday, 16 Sep 2014 07:46 AM
French journalist Didier Francois, 53, who works for Paris radio station Europe 1, was held for 10 months by ISIS in Syria before he was released in April, according to the BBC.
Another French hostage, Nicholas Henin, said in an interview with France24 that "The conditions were not always hard. The physical violence is not the worst," The Independent reported. "The uncertainty of not knowing what is going to happen the next day or the next minute is traumatizing."
Henin, who also was held for 10 months in Syria, according to The Independent, added, "That is the conditioning of the hostages. That is itself already a sort of violence."
The extremists put their hostages through mock crucifixions. That explains why they are seemingly composed prior to being killed. "They did not realize that this time it was the real thing," Francois said, according to the Mail.
Francois said that journalist James Foley was singled out for rougher treatment because ISIS discovered that his brother served in the U.S. military. He also described him as "one of the pillars" among the hostages, who "never cracked even under the most difficult conditions," according to the Mail.
Francois, Henin, and two other French hostages were released in April after his country purportedly paid an $18 million ransom through Turkish and other intermediaries. France denies a payoff was involved, according the Mail.
Related Stories:
- 4 French Journalists Held Hostage in Syria Freed
- Experts: Beheadings Driving Jihadi Recruitment to ISIS
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