Released Iraq hostage Jill Carroll said on Saturday her captors had "forced" her to make false statements in a propaganda video to gain her freedom, and condemned them as criminals.
She also said that during her almost three months in captivity in Baghdad her captors had threatened her "many times", contradicting the version of events she gave in an separate interview recorded immediately after her release.
"During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me they would let me go if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. I agreed," the 28-year-old journalist said in a statement from Ramstein air base in Germany.
"Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not," said the statement, read by the editor of the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor newspaper on CNN.
"The people who kidnapped me and murdered Alan Enwiya are criminals, at best. They robbed Alan of his life and devastated his family. They put me, my family and my friends-- and all those around the world, who have prayed so fervently for my release-- through a horrific experience. I was, and remain, deeply angry with the people who did this," the statement said.
"The people who kidnapped me and murdered Alan Enwiya are criminals, at best. They robbed Alan of his life and devastated his family. They put me, my family and my friends-- and all those around the world, who have prayed so fervently for my release-- through a horrific experience. I was, and remain, deeply angry with the people who did this," the statement said.