Peter Theo Curtis, a Middlebury alum who graduated in 1991 with a degree in literary studies, came to the spotlight in late August after he was released by a militant group affiliated with Al Qaeda. He was kept in captivity for more than 22 months in Syria by the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra or by splinter groups allied with Jabhat al-Nusra, according to his family.
An initial investigation by Curtis’ family and colleagues show that Curtis crossed the border into Syria with a guide that betrayed him and handed him to an extremist group Ahrar al-Sham, who later handed him to al-Nusra Front. (Jabhat al-Nusra).
At several points during his captivity, the militant group made several videos with Curtis, who asked for the immediate actions from the United States government to save his life. In the video, Curtis appeared to read from a script on the ground. In another video, Curtis stated that he is in good health while being kept there.
The release was made possible by the effort from the Qatari government. Relatives of Mr. Curtis said they felt as if an avenue of communication had been opened as soon as Qatar became involved. The Qatari government offered crucial information to Curtis’ family quickly after stepping in.
After getting introduced to the Qatar government by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, the family was able to ask a proof-of-life question to Mr. Curtis, which was answered correctly. The question, “what is the subject of your Ph.D dissertation?” is one that only Curtis himself could have answered. (Answer: a museum started by the mother of the novelist Anthony Trollope.)
Qatar had successfully negotiated the release of multiple European citizens kidnapped by Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, before the U.S Ambassador, Samantha Power, introduced her Qatari counterpart to Curtis’ family.
Curtis’ family stated that the Qatari government told them no ransom was paid for the release of Curtis. The no-ransom principle was confirmed by the White House’s answer to questions regarding Curtis’ release.
Curtis’ release drew attention after the decapitation of the American journalist, James Foley. Foley’s murder prompted the U.S. to take further actions against ISIS. Several European nations have paid sums averaging multi-millions of dollars to secure the release of their citizens. Qatar played a role in successfully negotiating the release of numerous westerners for ransom.
Terrorist groups have collected tens of millions of dollars through the ransom payment. Holding hostages of westerners for ransom has become a popular conduct among militant groups ranging from Yemen in the Arabic peninsula to Mali in Africa. According to The New York Times, European nations have paid more than 125 million dollars in ransom to the direct affiliate of al Qaeda.
Curtis speaks fluent Arabic and French, and he also speaks German and Russian. He grew to love Syria a decade ago when he studied Arabic and Russian in Damascus.
Mr. Curtis has written two books. The first book, called My Life [Had] Stood a Loaded Gun, is about disaffected youth in the US while working as a teacher in the Vermont prison system. The second, Undercover Muslim, published in the U.K., discusses disaffected young men from the West coming to study Islam.
