Murdered British aid worker was certain he would be freed
CAIRO — The Briton murdered by Islamic State was not at all concerned about his fate when he was kidnapped, laughing and joking with his fellow detainees amid his certainty that he was soon to be freed, according to a fellow detainee.
In the first detailed account of Alan Henning’s capture and initial imprisonment, it has emerged that the taxi driver was subjected to nighttime interrogation sessions by a masked British jihadist and a high-ranking Islamic State official.
But Henning, who had travelled to Syria as part of a Muslim aid convoy, did not lose the compassion and good humour for which he was remembered at a memorial service Sunday. He broke down in tears of empathy when he was moved away from the other prisoners — because he was sure he was to be freed, while the others remained behind bars.
He formed a bond with his fellow captives after his kidnapping on Boxing Day last year — joking with them about his snoring, and playfully complaining about the food.
“Alan didn’t like the prison food they gave us. He joked that people can eat whatever they like in a British prison,” recalled Seif al-Idlibi, an opposition activist who was detained with Henning. “He was very relaxed. He didn’t understand who his captors were and he was convinced he would be released soon.”
Instead, on Friday, a video was released showing his beheading by a man with a British accent known as Jihadi John. Sunday night in Eccles, Greater Manchester, where Henning lived, a memorial service for people of all faiths was held in his memory at the local parish church.
His widow Barbara has said his family and friends were “numb with grief” after receiving “the news we hoped we would never hear.”
Idlibi said Henning was interrogated three times by the masked British jihadist and the senior IS leader.
“This is an infidel, (Islamic State) told us when they brought him in,” said Idlibi, who was freed in January when the detention centre where they were held was liberated by Syrian rebels.
“He was not afraid — he thought it was just a regular security check.”
Smiling, Henning showed his cellmates a tattoo that read “For Syria.” He said he was transporting toys and presents to distribute to Syrian children.
The father of two teenagers had taken unpaid leave from his job to join a Muslim convoy delivering aid.
Smiling for a friend’s camera at the Turkish border, shortly before his capture, Henning had said he was sure of his mission. “It’s all worthwhile when you see what is needed actually get to where it needs to go.”
He was stopped at a checkpoint shortly after entering Syria, and was arrested as soon as he showed his British passport.
Idlibi said he was then brought to a detention centre in the northwestern town of al-Dana.
“Before Alan arrived, we only saw our guard once a day when he came to give us sandwiches and a drink or water,” he said. “When he entered, we realized the prison was suddenly heavily guarded.”
Prisoners were banned from using mobile phones during his stay, suggesting IS knew the high value of the captive.
Henning was interrogated by three separate captors throughout the night, including a masked British jihadist and the IS-appointed emir of Idlib, in northwestern Syria, said Idlibi.
But Henning remained in good spirits. When his cellmates later woke him during the night to alert him to his snoring, he laughed and apologized, saying he had been awake for 24 hours.
The next morning, a guard came for Henning, telling him to bring his belongings with him. Kissing his cellmates goodbye, Idlibi says it was clear that he thought the worst was over. “He was crying with empathy as he said goodbye — he thought he was being freed and leaving us behind. We don’t know where they took him.”
Instead of being freed, however, Henning was transferred deeper into IS’s extensive prison network. He was not sighted again in public until the jihadist group released a video showing the beheading of a second British aid worker, David Haines, two weeks ago.
The pictures of Henning in IS hands prompted an outcry from Muslims around the world. But their calls went unheeded. On Friday a video was released showing the aid worker being murdered by his Islamic State captors.
“When he arrived with us, ISIL treated him so well,” said Idlibi. “We could not imagine they would slaughter him.”