Last week, we reported on the release of Canadian Joshua Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman, and their three children. Now it appears there was a fourth child who died in captivity.
Upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Boyle told the press:
“The stupidity and evil of the Haqqani network’s kidnapping of a pilgrim and his heavily pregnant wife engaged in helping ordinary villagers in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan was eclipsed only by the stupidity and evil of authorizing the murder of my infant daughter.”
CBS reports that Boyle additionally said a guard, aided by superiors, raped his wife. He expects Afghanistan to prosecute them. The Haqqani network is affiliated with the Taliban.
The Taliban has since responded to the New York Times, stating that Boyle is making “fabricated claims,” insinuating the story was cooked up by the United States government.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said:
“From the beginning up to their freedom, the wife and the husband were not separated even for a few minutes — and the reason for that was to avoid any suspicions. One female child was naturally miscarried. No one has intentionally killed the child or carried out any other abuse on them. If that was our plan, they would not have gone home with three children.”
Boyle also criticized the U.S. State Department in a handwritten note, given to AP:
“God has given me and my family unparalleled resilience and determination, and to allow that to stagnate, to pursue personal pleasure or comfort while there is still deliberate and organized injustice in the world would be a betrayal of all I believe, and tantamount to sacrilege.”
RedState reported on Boyle’s insistence on being taken to a Canadian base or directly to Canada last Friday. His previous wife was Omar Khadr’s sister. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains it is not looking at Boyle or Coleman for any crimes. One official even said of Boyle’s ties to the Al Qaeda-associated Khadr family that it was just a “horrible coincidence.”
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