Kidnapper gets 15 years in Lindhout case

Lindhout was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In rendering the sentence, the judge said hostage-taking is a threat to the international community that deserves significant punishment. The government of Canada has a policy of refusing to pay ransom claimed by kidnappers.

‘Horrendous circumstances’ cited by judge

Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were seized near Mogadishu in 2008 and held for 15 months before private interests paid a ransom and they were released. The judge said the “horrendous circumstances” of their confinement were an important factor in his decision on the punishment.

Ali Omar Ader had argued that he was forced into serving as a negotiator for the hostage takers and that he cooperated because they threatened to hurt him and his family. The judge didn’t buy it and convicted him in December 2017.

Ader succumbed to phony book deal

Ader was lured from Somalia to Canada by undercover police who offered him a phony book-publishing deal. He admitted to them that he had received $10,000 for the role he played in the kidnapping.

In Canada, most convicts are released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Ader will get six years credit for time he has already served.

Lindhout haunted by hostage-taking

At the sentencing hearing, Lindhout had described the effects of her confinement as including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, the inability to sustain friendships, insomnia, nightmares, digestive problems and broken teeth.

Brennan said he would never forget hearing Lindhout’s screams from torture in a nearby room.

Ader apologized and asked for their forgiveness at a hearing in March, saying he was human and therefore flawed.

Files from Canadian press and CBC.