Videotape Surfaces Depicting Aid Worker’s Death

Family members of Margaret Hassan, the director of CARE International in Iraq who was kidnapped last month, said today after viewing a videotape of her apparent slaying that they believe she has been killed.

Hassan’s death could not be verified because her corpse has not been found. However, a videotape showing a blindfolded woman being shot to death was received by Al Jazeera, an Arab television network, and passed on to British officials.

Hassan, who spent half her adult life aiding needy Iraqis through charity, was born in Ireland. She lived in Iraq with her husband for more than 30 years and held citizenship in Britain. She was taken captive Oct. 19, when her driver and companion were overpowered while she was pulled from the car.

“She has probably been murdered,” British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told Reuters.

Al Jazeera said they received a copy of the videotape and initially said they would broadcast the video. But a spokesman later told the Associated Press that the footage would not be aired.

“We have kept hoping for as long as we could, but we now have to accept that Margaret has probably gone and at last her suffering has ended,” her four brothers and sisters said in a statement released through the British Foreign Office in London.

They added, “Our hearts are broken.”

Within days of her disappearance, Hassan was shown alone in a grainy videotape, making a dramatic, tearful plea for her life. “Help me, please help me,” said a haggard and fearful-looking Hassan as she spoke to the camera. “These might be my last hours. Please help me.”

She implored the British government to withdraw their troops from Baghdad. The British government said it would resist terrorists’ demands.

For Iraqis, who have grown jaded by taped acts of violence, Hassan’ kidnapping and videotape delivered an emotional jolt for them. Hassan, who opposed the U.S.-led war, was forced to beg for her life.

It was unclear who held her captive, and no group claimed responsibility. Today, her family did not mention whether they knew who was behind Hassan’s kidnapping and apparent death.

“Those who are guilty of this atrocious act, and those who support them, have no excuses,” the statement said.

Earlier this week in Fallouja, U.S. troops said they found the mutilated body of a woman covered with a blood-soaked cloth in a street. News services quoted a U.S. Marine saying he was “80% positive the body was that of a Westerner.”

Hassan and a Polish woman who is married to an Iraqi are the only known Western women to have been kidnapped and are still missing.

In a statement, CARE said today, “It is with profound sadness that we have learned of the existence of a video in which it appears that our colleague Margaret Hassan has been killed. The whole of CARE is in mourning.”

Times wire services contributed to this report.