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Freed Canadian hostage faces assault charges -lawyer

By David Ljunggren

 

FILE PHOTO: Joshua Boyle speaks to the media after arriving with his wife and three children at Toronto Pearson International Airport, nearly 5 years after he and his wife were abducted in Afghanistan in 2012 by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian man freed in 2017 nearly five years after being abducted in Afghanistan has been arrested in Ottawa and faces several charges, including assault and forcible confinement, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

 

Joshua Boyle, his wife Caitlin Coleman and three children arrived back in Canada last October. At the time he said one of his children had been murdered and spouse was raped after their capture by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network.

 

Police have laid 15 charges against Boyle, 34, including eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of forcible confinement and one count of uttering death threats.

 

A publication ban has been imposed, preventing the alleged victims from being identified.

 

"Mr. Boyle is presumed innocent. He's never been in trouble before ... We look forward to receiving the evidence and defending him against these charges," Boyle's lawyer, Eric Granger, said in an email.

 

Ottawa police laid the charges on Dec. 30, since when Boyle has been in jail. He is due to make a brief court appearance on Wednesday.

 

Ottawa police declined to comment and referred questions to the attorney general of Ontario, which was not immediately able to comment.

 

Boyle, his wife and their three children met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his Parliament Hill office last month. Photos that Boyle released at the time on Twitter showed Trudeau holding the youngest child in his lap.

 

Trudeau had said in September he could not imagine what the family were going through. The Taliban denied the accusations of rape and murder.

 

Boyle and Coleman were kidnapped in 2012 while backpacking in Afghanistan and their children were born in captivity. U.S. officials say the family spent almost all their confinement in neighbouring Pakistan, which is where they were freed by Pakistani troops.

 

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Tom Brown and Susan Thomas)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-03

[Kerryd]

I do not believe he was ever a "hostage".
He deliberately went to Afghanistan in Oct 2012 (with his pregnant wife) to hook up with the Taliban. This was when Canadian troops (and others of course) were still fighting those same Taliban. He knew if he left (Canada) with the intent of going to Afghanistan to join the Taliban, he'd have been arrested before he ever left the country.
Instead he went on a "back packing" trip through the "stans" (countries just north of Afghanistan like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) with his pregnant wife. They kept in touch with relatives at the start of the trip, then, for unexplained reasons and without telling anyone, suddenly they detoured and snuck into Afghanistan and made their way to Kabul.

In Kabul (probably the safest place in the country for foreigners other than being on a military base), Boyle sends an email claiming that they were in a "very dangerous part of the country". Apparently he didn't have a clue that they'd be able to figure out where he'd sent the email from. The next day he makes a cash withdrawal from an ATM (still in Kabul) and then he travels to the Wardak province "to go hiking in the mountains" with his (6 month) pregnant wife, in later October.

(I believe he sent the email as a smokescreen to set up his "kidnapping" by making it sound like they were somewhere else at the time.) 

I believe the "kidnapping" was a cover story so that if he got caught, or got sick, or wanted to leave for any reason, he could come back as a "victim" instead of a criminal. Taking your 6 month pregnant wife "hiking" in the mountains of Wardak province in late October ? Kabul and Wardak are in the Hindu Kush mountain range and are higher in elevation that Denver, Colorado. I spent 2 years in Kabul (back in '03-'05) and outside of the city is very rugged, very poor, and not "tourist" friendly. Winter comes early and is normally pretty harsh.
The area was (is) also considered "high risk" due to the large terrorist presence in the area.  

Remember too that Boyle had previously been married (for a year) to Omar Khadr's sister. She had previously stated that she spent 5 years living with the Taliban and that those were the "best years of her life".
Oh, and he changed his story about why he was in Afghanistan after he was "rescued". The new story was that he'd apparently decided he suddenly wanted to be a humanitarian and travel to the most remote villages in the area, ones that the government doesn't even go to, to "help the children". I guess that story was concocted to try and garner more sympathy and cover the obvious BS of his previous story.

A senior (American) intelligence officer supposedly stated that they thought he'd gone there to join the Taliban but didn't think he'd actually gone onto the "battlefield" (yet).

The first videos that were "smuggled out" and "hand delivered" to his parents in 2013 (in April and August) showed just Boyle and his wife, in front of a drop sheet (used to hide what else was in the room). No outside noise was heard, NO terrorists, no "propaganda" flag, weapons or restraints were seen at all. (I commented at the time that I was pretty sure they were NOT in Afghanistan as she was dressed more in Pakistani fashion).

(I noted that the wife recently admitted that they'd been "moved" to Pakistan shortly after being "captured". That is why they used plain "drop clothes" to hide the room they were in when they made the videos, and why they made sure there was no outside noise (radios/music) that could possibly betray their actual location. They wanted people to believe they were still in Afghanistan.)

 

NO threats made in the videos and NO ransom demands. In fact, of ALL the videos that were "smuggled out" there NEVER were ANY terrorists, weapons, restraints, "flags" or propaganda shown.

In fact, the only "threat" and "demand" was made YEARS later, when the son of the leader of the Haqqani network had been sentenced to death by the Afghan courts.

Boyle (and wife) claimed that if the Afghan government didn't stop the execution of terrorists, they'd be killed. (Again, no terrorists seen/heard, just Boyle and his wife.)

Obviously nothing happened.

Wow. The terrorists "kidnap" a Canadian and his pregnant American wife and make NO threats or demands for years ! The first communication was the 2 minute video made over 6 months after they were "captured", followed by a 2nd 2 minute video that was apparently made in August. After that is was like 1 1/2 YEARS with NO news of any kind. Then another short video came out.  Then another really long silence, almost 2 years, and they came out with another message. 
It was almost like the terrorists didn't think of them as hostages at all !

It was NO surprise (to me) that they were suddenly "rescued". Boyle's wife was let out into a compound yard where she could be seen by drones and then the Pakistanis were (supposedly) given an ultimatum (either they got them out or the Americans would do it and embarrass the Pakistanis, again).
Boyle claims there was a shoot out and that someone said "kill the hostages" but oddly enough, right after the "rescue" there were other claims that it was actually a hand-off between the Haqqanis and their Pakistani handlers and there was NO "shoot out" of any kind.

Boyle also refused to fly back on US military aircraft. Seems he was worried about being questioned and possibly arrested (gee, I wonder why). I'm sure he knew if the US had professional investigators on the plane they'd pick his story apart in minutes and then he probably would have been arrested. Instead he comes straight back to Canada and is welcomed as a "victim" and no one questions him at all.

Then what happened after they got back to Canada ? One child almost immediately has to go to the hospital for an emergency (and then the wife as well) within days of their arrival.
Almost as if that was the plan all along. Get caught so they could come back and get quality (and free) medical treatment.

Remember that the Khadr family used to do almost the EXACT same thing. Whenever the mother was pregnant, they'd return to Canada's fine (and free) health care system to have the baby (and get that all important passport), then as soon as feasible, they'd return to Pakistan (or Afghanistan) to raise the kids. When Omar's father was injured during a fight between various Afghan rival factions, they returned to Canada so he could get that great (and free) medical care (and to solicit more donations for his "charities). Then it was straight back to Afghanistan again.
And when Omar's father was arrested in Pakistan (on charges of using his "charities" to help finance an Embassy bombing) it was none other than Liberal Prime Minister Chretien who personally intervened with the Pakistani government to get him released and sent back to Canada. Omar's father was so grateful that as soon as he got back to Canada, he turned around and almost immediately moved back to Afghanistan.

When Omar's father was killed (along with a number of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters) and his brother wounded and captured, he was repatriated back to Canada (got to love that high quality, free healthcare) !
I also thought the "rescue" was pretty convenient timing as well. Considering that Boyle's former brother-in-law (Omar Khadr) recently became a multi-millionaire (thanks to the Liberals) and his ex-wife (Omar's sister), fresh out of Turkish prison where she'd been held over some "visa issues" supposedly, was making a rare visit back to Canada as well.
(Kind of makes me wonder how she's able to travel so freely, considering she was on a "passport control list" for years and not eligible to be issued a new passport due to the large number of passports she claimed had been "lost". Maybe someone took her off that list for some reason. Would sure like to know who, and when.)

I have a sneaking suspicion that there will soon be a divorce and once the wife gets back to the safety of the US, another, completely different, version of what happened will come out. Frik, after his "rescue" even the terrorists were calling Boyle a liar because of some of stuff he was saying.
I have no doubt there are probably a lot of videos and other evidence out that that shows he was never a "hostage". Maybe if the Pakistanis (and/or the terrorists) get pissed off enough they'll suddenly "discover" a stash of material that will get released to the public.

[isaanbanhou]

He's a complete idiot at best. Going for hike in Afghanistan while Canadian troops were fighting the taliban.  I tend to agree with the above poster

[Credo]

@Kerryd

 

Thanks.   I'm not sure I agree with everything you posted, but I doubt too many could argue intelligently with what you have posted.   Very insightful.   

[isaanbanhou]

The Canadian governments policy toward returning ISIS jihadis is certainly not universally embraced. Nor was the payment of $10 million in compensation to child soldier, Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr.

 

'Canada does not engage in death squads,' while allies actively hunt down their own foreign fighters

Government estimates more than 200 Canadians have been 'terrorist travellers'

 

Spokesman Dan Brien suggested the government's focus is on changing minds.

 

"Returning foreign terrorist travellers and their families, specifically women and children, require the appropriate disengagement and reintegration support," he wrote in an email to CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/isis-fighters-returning-target-jihadis

[Get Real]

I´m sorry, but the picture in this news article reminds me to much of "The Planet of the Apes"

Otherwise, Thumbs up to Kerryd! You covered it all.

[pegman]

His story from the start sounded like BS but who could blame him for not going on an American  military plane after what happened to Maher Arar.

Edited January 3, 2018 by pegman

[Sir Dude]

A good analysis from post #1....and yeah, he even looks like a scumbag from that picture with the dodgy beard still being sported, toss him in jail for a month just for that I say.

[geriatrickid]

29 minutes ago, pegman said:

His story from the start sounded like BS but who could blame him for not going on an American  military plane after what happened to Maher Arar.

Arar was not an angel despite the revisionist whitewash provided on his case.He was a Canadian citizen of convenience  spending considerable time out of the country and aligned with political groups contrary to  Canadian  government policy. This was not fully reported at the time. The Canadian media  chose to ignore his background. The Arara case could have been avoided had he been  disposed of at the time. 

The same holds for Boyle. No effort should have been expended to retrieve his pathetic self. He should have instead been disposed of by a drone delivered ordinance.

 

 

 

[Gillyflower]

I was from the first very sceptic about his story. not having anything to go on of course.  Whether everything KerryD says is true or not ,it is very interesting and most credible.

 

But what none of you talk about is what are all these charges now.  What is the story of what he has been doing in Canada since September to warrant these charges.

[pegman]

14 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

Arar was not an angel despite the revisionist whitewash provided on his case.He was a Canadian citizen of convenience  spending considerable time out of the country and aligned with political groups contrary to  Canadian  government policy. This was not fully reported at the time. The Canadian media  chose to ignore his background. The Arara case could have been avoided had he been  disposed of at the time. 

The same holds for Boyle. No effort should have been expended to retrieve his pathetic self. He should have instead been disposed of by a drone delivered ordinance.

 

 

 

555! Yeah, Steve Harper was in the habit of giving formal public appoligies to muslim terrorists. There was a full pubic inquiry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_of_Inquiry_into_the_Actions_of_Canadian_Officials_in_Relation_to_Maher_Arar where all the details of this monumental screwup came out. Arar came to Mtl at 17 with his family from Syria and went to school there getting his doctorate from UofQ. The travel you wrote of was in the USA where he went to work in Boston. He later moved back to Canada to start his own business. Your hit job has no basis in truth. Stop reading The Rebel (Canadian InfoWars) and maybe you won't come off so bad.

[Stargeezr]

It seems that everyone has a monster inside of them, and this ummm monster has surfaced in Joshua Boyle. This guy needs some serious interrogation to maybe get to the truth of who he really is. Likely he would like a few million easy dollars from Canadian taxpayers like PM Trudeau gave to Omar. I think the true nature of this guy is just starting to be exposed. Sexual assault is part of the accusations against him.

Geezer

[pegman]

2 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

It seems that everyone has a monster inside of them, and this ummm monster has surfaced in Joshua Boyle. This guy needs some serious interrogation to maybe get to the truth of who he really is. Likely he would like a few million easy dollars from Canadian taxpayers like PM Trudeau gave to Omar. I think the true nature of this guy is just starting to be exposed. Sexual assault is part of the accusations against him.

Geezer

There is no issue of wrong doing by the Canadian gov so why would there be a money award? 

[Stargeezr]

My point also was that Omar did not deserve any money from Canadian tax payers, sorry to have you miss that point.

Geezer