Daughter: Hostage doing
'same work' as terrorists

Image from Al-Jazeera broadcast Tuesday shows two of four hostages

In a television interview, the daughter of one of four Western hostages held by a terrorist group in Baghdad issued an appeal to her father's captors, arguing "the work that he is there to do is the same work that they would like to see done."

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Katherine Fox's father, Tom Fox of Clearbrook, Va., was kidnapped at gunpoint Nov. 26 along with three other members of the activist group Christian Peacemaker Teams. The men were shown in a video three days later being held by the terrorists, who accused them of being spies.

Christian Peacemakers Teams in Iraq also issued an appeal, saying the group opposed kidnapping but would not condemn the kidnappers for their actions.

The captors, who have identified themselves as the "Swords of Righteousness Brigade," threatened to kill the men unless the U.S. and Iraqi governments release all prisoners held in detention centers by today, according to a videotape and statement broadcast by the Arab satellite news network Al-Jazeera last week.

Katherine Fox told ABC's "Nightline" Tuesday she wanted to remind the kidnappers her father was there to help Iraqi detainees and their families and that he opposed the "U.S. occupation of Iraq.

"And that the work that he is there to do is the same work that they would like to see done," she said. "And that I do not think a loss of his life benefits their cause."

Tom Fox, 54, is being held with Norman Kember, 74, of London; and James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, of Canada.

Katherine Fox said her father would oppose using violent force to free him.

"Before he left, he wrote a very concise, precise statement of conscience and conviction that if he were ever to be taken hostage that he does not support violent means to come in and to potentially release, to rescue him," she said.

The appeal Tuesday by Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq emphasized its opposition to "the invasion and occupation of Iraq" and stated that while it doesn't condone kidnapping, it won't condemn the kidnappers for their actions.

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"It is our most sincere wish that you will immediately release them unharmed," the group said to the kidnappers in its statement. "We are very concerned about our friends. We would very much like to know that they are in good condition."

The statement continued: "We recognize the humanity in each person, and respect it very much. This includes you, our colleagues, and all people. Perhaps you are men who only want to raise the issue of illegal detention. We don't know what you may have endured."

The group said, "We also condemn our own governments for their actions in Iraq" and seek to be a "force that counters all the resentment, the fear, the intimidation felt by the Iraqi people."

"Please, we appeal to your humanity to show mercy on our brothers and let them come back safely to us to continue our work. May God spare our friends, and all the people of Iraq any further suffering."

In an interview from Baghdad last week, a Canadian member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, Greg Rollins, called the situation "hugely worrisome."

"We're not panicking because we just know the dangers of panicking," Rollins told The Canadian Press.

The group contacted Arab and Muslim friends, urging them to make it clear in their communities that the hostages are not spies and that Christian Peacemaker Teams opposes the "American occupation of Iraq," reported the National Post.

The Canadian paper said that tactic appeared to pay off last week when the Association of Muslim Scholars, a group of influential Sunni clerics in Iraq, called for release of the men to recognize their "good efforts in helping those in need."

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