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CPT Worker Tom Fox Confirmed Dead in Iraq
News networks are reporting this morning that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the State Department in the USA confirmed that the body of an American citizen found dead in Iraq yesterday is that of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) worker Tom Fox, one of four CPT peace activists kidnapped on 26 November 2005.
The BBC reports as follows...
Tom Fox's body was found on Thursday in the affluent Mansour district, Iraqi police said. There were signs that he had been beaten before being killed.
Mr Fox was seized last November, along with Briton Norman Kember and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden.
A video tape showing the other three men was released on Tuesday, but Mr Fox did not feature on it.
Mr Fox, 54, had been working with Iraqi human rights organisations for the past two years.
His parent organisation, Christian Peacemaker Teams, said it mourned his loss.
"Tom Fox... combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression and the recognition of God in everyone," it said in a statement.
The organisation's co-directors, Doug Pritchard and Carol Rose, appealed to people to "set aside inclinations to vilify or demonise others, no matter what they have done".
The other three men kidnapped with Tom Fox are the Briton Norman Kember and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden.
Here is an excerpt from the CPT release in mourning for Tom Fox...
In grief we tremble before God who wraps us with compassion. The death of our beloved colleague and friend pierces us with pain. Tom Fox’s body was found in Baghdad yesterday.
Christian Peacemaker Teams extends our deep and heartfelt condolences to the family and community of Tom Fox, with whom we have traveled so closely in these days of crisis.
We mourn the loss of Tom Fox who combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression, and the recognition of God in everyone.
We renew our plea for the safe release of Harmeet Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember. Each of our teammates has responded to Jesus’ prophetic call to live out a nonviolent alternative to the cycle of violence and revenge.
In response to Tom’s passing, we ask that everyone set aside inclinations to vilify or demonize others, no matter what they have done. In Tom’s own words: "We reject violence to punish anyone. We ask that there be no retaliation on relatives or property. We forgive those who consider us their enemies. We hope that in loving both friends and enemies and by intervening nonviolently to aid those who are systematically oppressed, we can contribute in some small way to transforming this volatile situation.â€
Read the full statement at the CPT site.
Sources
BBC News Online: US hostage in Iraq confirmed
Ekklesia: Christian peacemaker Tom Fox killed in Iraq
Christian Peacemaker Teams: CPT Release: We Mourn the Loss of Tom Fox
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