Margaret Hassan
Encyclopedia
Margaret Hassan (18 April 1945 – November 2004) was an Irish
aid worker who had worked in Iraq
for many years until she was abducted
and murder
ed by unidentified kidnappers in Iraq in 2004, at the age of 59. Her remains have not been recovered.
, County Dublin
, Ireland
, to parents Peter and Mary Fitzsimons. However, soon after the end of World War II
her family moved to London
, England
, where she spent most of her early life and where her younger siblings were born. At the age of twenty seven, she married Tahseen Ali Hassan, a twenty-nine-year-old Iraqi studying engineering in the United Kingdom. She moved to Iraq with him in 1972, when she began work with the British Council
of Baghdad
, teaching English
. Eventually she learned Arabic
and became an Iraqi citizen
, as was required of foreigners under Saddam Hussein
's government.
She remained a Roman Catholic
throughout her life and never converted to Islam
as was widely reported after her death. A requiem Mass was held for her, after her death was confirmed, at Westminster Cathedral
by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
During the early 1980s, Hassan became the assistant director of studies at the British Council
; later in the decade she became director. Meanwhile, Tahseen worked as an economist. She remained in Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf War
, although the British Council suspended operations in Iraq, and she was left jobless at the end of it.
restrictions. She was opposed to the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, arguing before it that the Iraqis were already "living through a terrible emergency. They do not have the resources to withstand an additional crisis brought about by military action". Margaret was crucially involved in bringing leukaemia medicine to child cancer victims in Iraq in 1998.
By 2004, she was head of Iraqi operations for CARE. Well known in many of Baghdad's slums and other cities, Hassan was especially interested in Iraq's young people, whom she called "the lost generation". Her presence could draw large crowds of locals.
in Baghdad on October 19, 2004, and was killed some weeks later on November 8.
In a video released of her in captivity she pleaded for the withdrawal of British troops. She stated that "these might be [her] last hours", "Please help me. The British people, tell Mr Tony Blair to take the troops out of Iraq and not bring them here to Baghdad", and that she did not "want to die like Bigley", a reference to Kenneth Bigley
, who had been beheaded in Iraq only weeks earlier.
Patients of an Iraqi hospital (where her work had some effect) took to the streets in protest against the hostage takers' actions. On October 25, between 100 and 200 Iraqis protested outside CARE's offices in Baghdad, demanding her release. Prominent elements of the Iraqi insurgency, such as the Shura Council of Fallujah
Mujahideen
, along with Iraqi politcal figures such as the Shia cleric Ali al-Sistani, condemned the kidnapping and called for her release.
On November 2, Al Jazeera
reported that the kidnappers threatened to hand her over to the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
who were responsible for the murder of Kenneth Bigley. On November 6, a statement purportedly from al-Zarqawi appeared on an Islamist
website calling for the release of Ms. Hassan unless the kidnappers had information she was aligned with the invading coalition. However, the statement could not be authenticated. Hassan's whereabouts were unknown in the video.
On November 15, U.S. Marines
in Fallujah
uncovered the body of an unidentified blonde- or grey-haired woman with her legs and arms cut off and throat slit. The body could not be immediately identified, but was thought unlikely to be Hassan, who had brown hair. There was one other western woman known missing in Iraq at the time the body was discovered, Teresa Borcz Khalifa, 54, Polish
-born and also a long-time Iraqi resident. Khalifa was released by her hostage takers on November 20.
On November 16, CNN
reported that 'CARE' had issued a statement indicating that the organization was aware of a videotape showing Hassan's murder. Al-Jazeera reported that it had received a tape showing Hassan's murder but was unable to confirm its authenticity. The video showed Hassan being shot with a handgun by a masked man.
It is not clear who was responsible for Hassan's abduction and murder. The group holding her never identified itself in the hostage videos.
The director of the spinal cord clinic she supported in Baghdad, Qayder al-Chalabi, called her loss a huge blow to all Iraqis. "(The killers) made a very big mistake. This was a [sic] wrong person", he said on November 17. "We need to admire and remember her. We must have a ceremony every year to remember her". He believes that a statue should be erected in her honor.
At least eight other women kidnapped by insurgents during the conflict were released unharmed by their captors (Simona Pari, Simona Torretta, Florence Aubenas
, Giuliana Sgrena
, Teresa Borcz Khalifa, Hannelore Krause, Marie Jeanne Ion
, and Jill Carroll
). It is unclear, why Margaret Hassan, who was opposed to the war, lived in Iraq for many years, held Iraqi citizenship, was married to an Arab Muslim and spoke fluent Arabic was killed; the kidnappers did not identify their group nor their aims.
Her family continues to hope that her remains will be found and returned to them for a Christian burial.
On June 5, 2006 news reports emerged that an Iraqi man by the name of Mustafa Salman al-Jubouri has been sentenced to life imprisonment for "aiding and abetting the kidnappers" but two other men were acquitted. Margaret Hassan's family said the verdict left them "devastated and appalled". It is unclear what role the others who were acquitted played in the kidnapping or the role of the suspect who was found guilty. Al-Jubouri appealed this sentence and was given a shorter imprisonment.
An Iraqi man named Ali Lutfi Jassar al-Rawi aka Abu Rasha, an architect from Baghdad, was arrested by Iraqi and US forces in 2008 after contacting the British Embassy in Baghdad and attempting to extort 1 million dollars in return for disclosing the location of Hassan's body. He reportedly had knowledge of an intimate detail about Hassan, known only to her closest relatives and friends, which he used to validate his knowledge of her whereabouts. Though Jassar signed statements confessing to the charges, he pled not guilty, stating he was forced to sign them after receiving beatings and electrical shocks during questioning. "I have nothing to do with Hassan's abduction and I did not see or talk to her," Jassar said.
On June 2, 2009 the Press Association
reported that Jassar was given a life sentence by Baghdad's Central Criminal Court for being involved in Hassan's abduction and murder, and for attempting to blackmail the British Embassy. Hassan's family welcomed the court's decision but pleaded with Jassar to tell them where her body is so they can return her to Britain for burial.
On August 22, 2010 Iraq's deputy justice minister, Busho Ibrahim, said Jassar had been helped to escape from Baghdad central prison, formerly Abu Ghraib, during riots in September 2009 stating that "This guy [Jassar], he escaped from prison. People facilitated his escape, he is gone," and that "He seized the opportunity of the riots in the prison in September 2009 and he escaped. He was the only one who escaped". The minister also added that he discovered Jassar's escape about "20 or 30 days ago."
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
aid worker who had worked in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
for many years until she was abducted
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed by unidentified kidnappers in Iraq in 2004, at the age of 59. Her remains have not been recovered.
Life and career
She was born Margaret Fitzsimons in DalkeyDalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, to parents Peter and Mary Fitzsimons. However, soon after the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
her family moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where she spent most of her early life and where her younger siblings were born. At the age of twenty seven, she married Tahseen Ali Hassan, a twenty-nine-year-old Iraqi studying engineering in the United Kingdom. She moved to Iraq with him in 1972, when she began work with the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, teaching English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Eventually she learned Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and became an Iraqi citizen
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
, as was required of foreigners under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's government.
She remained a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
throughout her life and never converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as was widely reported after her death. A requiem Mass was held for her, after her death was confirmed, at Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
During the early 1980s, Hassan became the assistant director of studies at the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
; later in the decade she became director. Meanwhile, Tahseen worked as an economist. She remained in Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, although the British Council suspended operations in Iraq, and she was left jobless at the end of it.
CARE International
Hassan joined humanitarian relief organization CARE International in 1991, the aid group having established itself in Iraq during that year. Sanitation, health, and nutrition became major concerns in the sanctioned Iraq; she became a vocal critic of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
restrictions. She was opposed to the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, arguing before it that the Iraqis were already "living through a terrible emergency. They do not have the resources to withstand an additional crisis brought about by military action". Margaret was crucially involved in bringing leukaemia medicine to child cancer victims in Iraq in 1998.
By 2004, she was head of Iraqi operations for CARE. Well known in many of Baghdad's slums and other cities, Hassan was especially interested in Iraq's young people, whom she called "the lost generation". Her presence could draw large crowds of locals.
Kidnapping and murder
Hassan was kidnappedKidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
in Baghdad on October 19, 2004, and was killed some weeks later on November 8.
In a video released of her in captivity she pleaded for the withdrawal of British troops. She stated that "these might be [her] last hours", "Please help me. The British people, tell Mr Tony Blair to take the troops out of Iraq and not bring them here to Baghdad", and that she did not "want to die like Bigley", a reference to Kenneth Bigley
Kenneth Bigley
Kenneth John Bigley , born Liverpool, England, was a civil engineer who was kidnapped in the al-Mansour district of Baghdad, Iraq on 16 September 2004, along with his colleagues Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, both U.S. citizens...
, who had been beheaded in Iraq only weeks earlier.
Patients of an Iraqi hospital (where her work had some effect) took to the streets in protest against the hostage takers' actions. On October 25, between 100 and 200 Iraqis protested outside CARE's offices in Baghdad, demanding her release. Prominent elements of the Iraqi insurgency, such as the Shura Council of Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
, along with Iraqi politcal figures such as the Shia cleric Ali al-Sistani, condemned the kidnapping and called for her release.
On November 2, Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
reported that the kidnappers threatened to hand her over to the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
who were responsible for the murder of Kenneth Bigley. On November 6, a statement purportedly from al-Zarqawi appeared on an Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
website calling for the release of Ms. Hassan unless the kidnappers had information she was aligned with the invading coalition. However, the statement could not be authenticated. Hassan's whereabouts were unknown in the video.
On November 15, U.S. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
uncovered the body of an unidentified blonde- or grey-haired woman with her legs and arms cut off and throat slit. The body could not be immediately identified, but was thought unlikely to be Hassan, who had brown hair. There was one other western woman known missing in Iraq at the time the body was discovered, Teresa Borcz Khalifa, 54, Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-born and also a long-time Iraqi resident. Khalifa was released by her hostage takers on November 20.
On November 16, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported that 'CARE' had issued a statement indicating that the organization was aware of a videotape showing Hassan's murder. Al-Jazeera reported that it had received a tape showing Hassan's murder but was unable to confirm its authenticity. The video showed Hassan being shot with a handgun by a masked man.
It is not clear who was responsible for Hassan's abduction and murder. The group holding her never identified itself in the hostage videos.
Aftermath
CARE International suspended operations in Iraq because of Hassan's kidnapping. The last CARE project Hassan completed was one for children with spinal injuries.The director of the spinal cord clinic she supported in Baghdad, Qayder al-Chalabi, called her loss a huge blow to all Iraqis. "(The killers) made a very big mistake. This was a [sic] wrong person", he said on November 17. "We need to admire and remember her. We must have a ceremony every year to remember her". He believes that a statue should be erected in her honor.
At least eight other women kidnapped by insurgents during the conflict were released unharmed by their captors (Simona Pari, Simona Torretta, Florence Aubenas
Florence Aubenas
Florence Aubenas is a French journalist, who worked until 2006 for the French newspaper Libération. She was taken hostage on January 5, 2005, in Iraq along with her translator Hussein Hanoun Al-Saadi....
, Giuliana Sgrena
Giuliana Sgrena
Giuliana Sgrena is an Italian journalist who works for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto and the German weekly Die Zeit. While working in Iraq, she was kidnapped by insurgents on February 4, 2005. After her release on March 4, 2005, Sgrena and the two Italian intelligence officers who...
, Teresa Borcz Khalifa, Hannelore Krause, Marie Jeanne Ion
Marie Jeanne Ion
Marie Jeanne Ion is a Romanian journalist for Prima TV, taken hostage in Iraq on March 28, 2005, along with Sorin Mişcoci, Eduard Ohanesian and Mohammad Munaf. The hostage-takers were the Mouadh Ibn Jabal Brigade, who demanded the withdrawal of the 860 Romanian troops in Iraq in return for their...
, and Jill Carroll
Jill Carroll
Jill Carroll is an American former journalist who was kidnapped and ultimately released in Iraq. Carroll was a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor at the time of her kidnapping...
). It is unclear, why Margaret Hassan, who was opposed to the war, lived in Iraq for many years, held Iraqi citizenship, was married to an Arab Muslim and spoke fluent Arabic was killed; the kidnappers did not identify their group nor their aims.
Her family continues to hope that her remains will be found and returned to them for a Christian burial.
Investigation and sentencing
On May 1, 2005 three men were questioned by Iraqi police in connection with the murder.On June 5, 2006 news reports emerged that an Iraqi man by the name of Mustafa Salman al-Jubouri has been sentenced to life imprisonment for "aiding and abetting the kidnappers" but two other men were acquitted. Margaret Hassan's family said the verdict left them "devastated and appalled". It is unclear what role the others who were acquitted played in the kidnapping or the role of the suspect who was found guilty. Al-Jubouri appealed this sentence and was given a shorter imprisonment.
An Iraqi man named Ali Lutfi Jassar al-Rawi aka Abu Rasha, an architect from Baghdad, was arrested by Iraqi and US forces in 2008 after contacting the British Embassy in Baghdad and attempting to extort 1 million dollars in return for disclosing the location of Hassan's body. He reportedly had knowledge of an intimate detail about Hassan, known only to her closest relatives and friends, which he used to validate his knowledge of her whereabouts. Though Jassar signed statements confessing to the charges, he pled not guilty, stating he was forced to sign them after receiving beatings and electrical shocks during questioning. "I have nothing to do with Hassan's abduction and I did not see or talk to her," Jassar said.
On June 2, 2009 the Press Association
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
reported that Jassar was given a life sentence by Baghdad's Central Criminal Court for being involved in Hassan's abduction and murder, and for attempting to blackmail the British Embassy. Hassan's family welcomed the court's decision but pleaded with Jassar to tell them where her body is so they can return her to Britain for burial.
Escape
On July 14, 2010, a day before Jassar was due to appear in court for retrial, it was reported that he could not be located in the prison facility where he was being held. He had been missing for a month. He had not appeared at any of the previous retrial dates, which led to concerns that he had been released. Jassar recently transferred to a Baghdad jail after being held in northern Iraq. Jassar was not found after checking with both facilities. The director of Iraq's prisoner transfer system told an appeals judge that the killer's whereabouts were unknown. Hassan's family and lawyer believe the prisoner has escaped.On August 22, 2010 Iraq's deputy justice minister, Busho Ibrahim, said Jassar had been helped to escape from Baghdad central prison, formerly Abu Ghraib, during riots in September 2009 stating that "This guy [Jassar], he escaped from prison. People facilitated his escape, he is gone," and that "He seized the opportunity of the riots in the prison in September 2009 and he escaped. He was the only one who escaped". The minister also added that he discovered Jassar's escape about "20 or 30 days ago."
See also
- Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr.Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr.Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr. was an American helicopter engineer who lived in Saudi Arabia. He was a native of both Stafford and Eagleswood, New Jersey...
- Eugene Armstrong
- Jack HensleyJack HensleyJack Hensley was an American engineer from Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia, near Atlanta.While working in Iraq he was kidnapped and beheaded by Iraqi insurgents. His colleague, Eugene Armstrong, was beheaded the previous day...
- Kim Sun-ilKim Sun-ilKim Sun-il was a South Korean translator and Christian missionary who was kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq.- Kidnapping :...
- Kenneth BigleyKenneth BigleyKenneth John Bigley , born Liverpool, England, was a civil engineer who was kidnapped in the al-Mansour district of Baghdad, Iraq on 16 September 2004, along with his colleagues Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, both U.S. citizens...
- Shosei KodaShosei KodaShosei Koda was a Japanese citizen who was kidnapped and later beheaded in Iraq on November 3, 2004 while touring the country. His parents were members of the United Church of Christ...
- Nick BergNick BergNicholas Evan "Nick" Berg was an American businessman who went to Iraq after the US invasion of Iraq. He was abducted and later beheaded according to a video released in May 2004 by Islamist militants...
- Marla RuzickaMarla RuzickaMarla Ruzicka was an activist-turned-aid worker. She believed that combatant governments had a legal and moral responsibility to compensate the families of civilians killed or injured in military conflicts....
- Piotr StanczakPiotr StańczakPiotr Stańczak was a Polish geologist who was beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan in February 2009. Stańczak was abducted in the city of Attock in September 2008 after gunmen shot dead his driver, translator and bodyguard with whom he was travelling in a car...
- Daniel PearlDaniel PearlDaniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
- Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present
External links
- "Sister in plea over Hassan body"– BBC News 6 June 2006
- "UK tactics 'led to Hassan death"– BBC News 6 June 2006
- "Weeping Hassan pleads for life" – BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 22 October 2004 - "CARE worker pleads for her life" – CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, 22 October 2004 - "Plea for Iraq Kidnap Clues" – The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 24 October 2004 - "Captors threaten Hassan handover" – BBC News 2 November 2004
- "'Zarqawi' call to release Hassan" – BBC News 6 November 2004
- "UK Official: Iraq aid worker believed killed" – CNN, 16 November 2004
- "Who Killed Margaret Hassan?" by Robert Fisk, syndicated from The Independent by The Star (South Africa), 17 November 2004
- "Mystery remains over who killed Margaret Hassan" – The Guardian, 18 November 2004
- Press release from CARE
- "Body found in Iraq wasn't Hassan" – ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, 1 December 2004. - "Three quizzed over Hassan killing" – BBC News, 1 May 2005
- Margaret Hassan on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
Identities