In the latest example of ISIS brutality, a defector from the Islamic State said that the barbaric beheadings were rehearsed on victims so they wouldn’t squirm during their murders.
The defector told the author of a new book on ISIS atrocities that it was his job to put victims at ease.
In “The Complete Infidel’s Guide to ISIS,” Regnery Publishing author Robert Spencer noted that the victims in videos are surprisingly calm, leading some to speculate that hostages had been drugged first.
Victim Kenji Goto was among those led to believe the threat on him was fake. AP Photo
The unidentified defector explained that victims were put through mock executions and told that the whole scene was just for show and to warn Washington to stop attacking Syria.
In a section titled “Why are they victims so calm,” Spencer tells the defector’s story:
“It was his job, he says, to make sure that the hostages did not panic. For this reason, the beheadings are extensively rehearsed. According to the defector, the jihadist doing the beheading ‘would say to me, Say to them, no problem, only video, we don’t kill you, we want from your government [to] stop attacking Syria. We don’t have any problem with you; you are only our visitors.’
“So they don’t worry. Always I say to them, ‘Don’t worry, doesn’t matter, nothing dangerous for you.’ But at the end I was sure [they would die].”
In the same way, the Islamic State jihadi preparing to behead his victim would say to him, “it’s a rehearsal, don’t [be] afraid.” He would instruct the hostages to say, “I’m living in ISIS and will stay and continue.
The hostages were given Arabic names to reassure them further. Japanese hostage Kenji Goto was renamed “Abu Saad” and told: “You should be Muslim and come with us.” In the end, they killed him.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
