Susanne Osthoff

Susanne Kristina Osthoff (born March 7, 1962 in Munich) is a German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq since 1991 until being taken hostage there on November 25, 2005. She was freed by her captors on December 18, 2005.

Biography

Osthoff grew up in Grafing (Bavaria) with two brothers and one sister. Having finished school, she studied Near Eastern archaeology and Semitic languages at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich. During the course of her studies, she visited Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen to take part in excavations. She was married to a Jordanian, with whom she has a daughter, and has converted to Islam. Since 1991, she lived more or less continually in Iraq where she primarily worked as an archaeologist but also became involved as an aid worker.

Abduction

In summer 2005, Osthoff, who had previously converted to Islam, allegedly received several threats of abduction which she relayed to American authorities. Although the threats were judged to be serious and the German embassy asked Osthoff to leave the country, Osthoff decided to stay in the country and continue her work. On November 25, Osthoff and her driver vanished en route from Baghdad to Arbil; shortly after, a DVD containing a video clip was given to the ARD office in Baghdad. In the video, the two captives are shown surrounded by masked, armed men who read a statement demanding that the German government immediately cease all cooperation with the Iraqi government.