Taliban release video of captured Canadian ‘spy’

The Taliban, via Voice of Jihad, have released video and a statement on Colin Rutherford, a Canadian who was captured in Ghazni City in southeastern Afghanistan. (Note that Rutherford’s kidnapping was reported in late February 2011, but on the tape Rutherford says he was kidnapped in October 2010.)

The Taliban statement, which is reproduced in full below, is signed by Zabihullah Mujahid, the “Spokesman of Islamic Emirate.” Rutherford is being accused by the Taliban of being “an agent of this country’s spy agency.” In the video, Rutherford claims he was interested in Afghan history and “old buildings and shrines,” and denies he served an intelligence agent.

The Taliban said Rutherford could “could face a trial” if their demands are not met.

A few months earlier, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate captured a Canadian national, a resident of Toronto city and an agent of this country’s spy agency (Colin McKenzie Rutherford) in Ghazni province.

The mentioned person came under Mujahideen surveillance before his capture because of his suspicious actions. The documents seized and investigations carried out after his arrest showed that he had entered the country while working for a spy agency and had been working as an active spy for a long time, gathering intelligence information about Mujahideen.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, through an earlier released statement asked the Canadian government to accept the terms laid out by Islamic Emirate in order to solve this case and once again re-iterates itself to the Canadian government to take urgent steps to solve this case or this detainee could face a trial. The video of the detainee has been released as promised by Islamic Emirate, which can be viewed at the following link.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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1 Comment

  • ArneFufkin says:

    “In the video, Rutherford claims he was interested in Afghan history and “old buildings and shrines,” and denies he served an intelligence agent.”
    Sometimes you just have to wonder what goes through people’s minds.

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