An article was just posted by the Mirror that stated Pirate leader Maslah Yare put Paul Chandler, 60, and wife Rachel, 56, into a car and hid them in a forest. 

Al-Shabab, a group linked to al-Qaeda, had been closing in on the pirates’ lair. Yare, who wants a £1.3million ransom, said they would be abandoned if Al-Shabab got too close because “our lives are more important”.

It has been rumored that Al-Shabab may have similar financial interests in participating in the kidnapping of the British sailing couple,  Paul and Rachel Chandler.

I have yet to find any evidence that supports the validity of this announcement, so I’m not going to re-post the original story.  Also, as barbaric as this tragedy is, I haven’t found any evidence that the pirates harm their captives without provocation.    

Regardless, the fact remains that both Rachel and Paul Chandler are still being held captive after almost 5 months and we would like to see them rejoin their families!  Hopefully we will see some positive news soon!

Paul Chandler and his wife Rachel, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania in October last year.

Somali deputy parliamentary speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha said he was hopeful they would be freed within two weeks. He said that communities inside and outside the war-ravaged country have been working to negotiate their unconditional release.

Stephen Collett – Mrs Chandler’s brother – refused to be drawn on any details of the hoped-for release but said he was “pleased” by the news. He has been in contact with the pirates via local broadcasters and the Foreign Office, who have been working towards their release.

The Chandlers are among about 130 sailors held hostage in Somalia.

In a telephone interview with a Somali television station, Mrs Chandler, who has recently appeared gaunt in pictures, said: “I’m obviously very tormented and very, very lonely and worried.” Meanwhile, Mr Chandler described their forced partition as “torture”.

The British Government has refused to pay a ransom for the couple and called for their immediate release. The Somali pirates have previously demanded a “seven million dollars” (£4.6 million) ransom for their safe release.

In a phone call translated by the BBC, one of the pirates said: “If they do not harm us, we will not harm them – we only need a little amount of seven million dollars.”

Mr Chandler, 59, and his wife, 55, were captured when armed men boarded their yacht as they slept.

It has since emerged that the crew of a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch the Chandlers being kidnapped by pirates but military officials have insisted that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment tanker Wave Knight, carrying 75 merchant seamen and 25 Royal Navy sailors, could not have acted without endangering the lives of the couple.

Speaking to The Times from the place where Paul and Rachel Chandler are held, a pirate leader identifying himself as Ali Gedow rejected appeals from the British and other expatriate Somali communities worried about their reputation. “We don’t care about their pressure,” he declared.

But he made no mention of the pirates’ original demand for a $7 million (£4.5 million) ransom and suggested that they might release the couple if they can recoup their “expenses”. He put those at around $2 million, claiming that they included the cost of 150 guards, renting vehicles and food.

Even that amount appears to be out of the question. The British Government has refused to pay any ransom and the Chandlers’ family do not have that sort of money. But the pirates’ lessened demands have given rise to hopes that they realise they have captured the wrong people and are looking for a face-saving way out.

A Whitehall security official toldThe Times: “This case is unusual. Unlike seamen kidnapped in the region, the Chandlers are just ordinary holidaymakers without the backing of a big company and the pirates may well be realising this now.”

Ridwaan Haji Abdiwali, a presenter with the Somali satellite television channel Universal TV, who has used his show to appeal for the Chandlers’ release, said that the pirates would have put the couple up as collateral to borrow money. “Since Somalis [abroad] began pressuring them it seems they are reducing their demands,” he said.

The Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured on October 23 as they sailed from the Seychelles towards Tanzania. Mr Gedow claimed — absurdly — that their yacht was inside Somali waters and that the pirates were simply protecting those waters from illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping.

He said Mrs Chandler’s brother, Stephen Collett, called the pirates almost daily to appeal for the couple’s release, but the British Government had made no contact. If the Government did not pay, he warned, “they will never see this couple again”.

Mr Gedow claimed that the Chandlers’ health was poor and deteriorating, with Mrs Chandler, 56, scarcely talking and unable to walk any distance. There was no need for the pirates to consider killing their hostages as they would die soon anyway.

There is no way to corroborate those claims, though the pirates did release a video in January showing Mrs Chandler looking thin and frail. Mr Gedow refused to put Mrs Chandler on the telephone, though he claimed that he was standing next to her.

He said the Chandlers were being kept in separate locations near the coastal town of Haradheere in case the British military tried to rescue them, and had not seen each other since a Somali doctor visited them last month.
He said that he felt sorry for them but “those responsible are the British Government and the British people who don’t care about these two. Other hostages have been released by their own countries . . . Everyone else in the world is helping their own citizens.”

The Government argues that it should do nothing to encourage the seizure of other British citizens. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are monitoring the situation very closely and doing everything we can to help secure a release.”

A spokesman for the Chandlers’ family declined to comment, but a letter released to the media earlier this month said a continuing “dialogue” with the pirates was making progress.

Original source from Bartamaha.com

The Somali group are desperate to help

SOMALIS living in Redbridge have vowed to do “everything in our power” to help free a British couple kidnapped last year by Somali pirates stalking the Indian Ocean.

Yusuf Munye, 34, of Chester Road, Seven Kings, is leading a united front among the borough’s Somali population in the push to get Rachel and Paul Chandler released.

They were kidnapped while sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania in October.

Their captors have threatened to kill the couple if their demands for $7million (£4.4million) are not met.

Mr Munye said: “Some people think the Somali community in Ilford supports the pirates.

“The main reason we have come together is to show we don’t support them.

“We are totally against their actions and we support our British brothers and sisters.”

Video footage released of the couple at the end of January showed them appealing for help after almost four months in captivity.

Last week, members of the Redbridge Somali community met in the Cardinal Heenan Centre, High Road, Ilford, to discuss what they could do to help bring the couple home.

Mr Munye said: “The government has said they won’t pay a ransom but we’re thinking about raising money to help.

“We’re also talking about trying to make contact with these pirates to help bring the Chandlers home.

“If we’re able to talk to them or to others in Somalia, there’s a chance they will release them.

“We will do everything in our power to free them.”

Mrs Chandler, 60 and Mr Chandler, 56, are understood to have been separated by their captors and are being held in areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small town of Amara, which is further inland.

Sourced from www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk

The shocking effects of captivity are all too clear in this picture of Rachel Chandler, who has been held by Somali pirates for the last three months.

The image was taken by a French news agency that was allowed to accompany a doctor who examined Mrs Chandler and her husband Paul, who are being held separately.

Photo of Rachel Chandler at a location in central Somalia, where she is being held by pirates

The strain on 56-year-old Mrs Chandler’s face is clearly visible as she sits with her dress hanging loosely from her thin shoulders.

Yesterday she renewed her plea for urgent help, saying: ‘We have not much time left and are being badly treated. Please help us – these people are not treating us well.’

She went on: ‘I’m old, I’m 56, and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left. These people are treating us so cruelly.’

This is only the second time Mrs Chandler, an economist, has been seen since she and her husband were kidnapped in October at gunpoint as they sailed in their yacht towards Tanzania.

The last time was in November, when a video taken by the kidnappers – who are demanding a £1.9million ransom – was shown on Channel 4.

Mrs Chandler being examined by Somali doctor Abdi Mohamed Helmi at a location in central Somalia

They have made other pleas for help in desperate phone calls, most recently on January 21, but the physical deterioration in yesterday’s new images are clear.

The Somalian doctor who examined Mrs Chandler said she was suffering a heavy ‘ mental’ toll as well, which was manifested in ‘insomnia’.

Surgeon Mohamed Helmi Hangul, who spent three weeks securing permission to visit the couple, said she was ‘mentally ill’, ‘anxious’, ‘disorientated’ and had been asking repeatedly for her husband.

Mr Chandler also appeared gaunt in the video taken last Thursday but released last night. His ribs could be seen as he lifted his shirt to be checked by the doctor, who reported he had a cough and a fever.

Paul Chandler is examined by the Somali doctor: The pair are being held in separate locations in rugged areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small town of Amara

Paul Chandler, 60, pleaded for help after admitting the conditions they were being held in were 'difficult'

In the video, filmed by the AFP photographer, Mr Chandler, a retired quantity surveyor, called on the British Government to intervene.

‘We are innocent. We have done no wrong. We have no money and can’t pay a ransom. We just need the Government to help, anyone who can get us out of here,’ he said. ‘Day after day and this is 98 days of solitary confinement, no exercise. I don’t know what to do.’ Mr Chandler finally pleaded: ‘Will somebody please help? The government or somebody else.’

Dr Hangul added he had not been allowed to bring any drugs with him but left a prescription-with the pirates. ‘I gave them some advice and told them, “Your hostages can die. All you want is money so treat them well, let them reunite”,’ he said.

Mrs Chandler’s brother, Stephen Collett, was too distressed to comment last night. A family friend said: ‘This is a highly distressing time for the family. They know the stakes are high and they are in an impossible position. The pirates want an unaffordable ransom and the Government won’t pay it.’

There has been sporadic communication with the Chandlers since they were captured, although this was the first time a journalist had been able to meet them.

Eleven days ago Mr Chandler spoke to ITV news, explaining their captives had ‘set a deadline of three or four days’, after which they expected to them to ‘kill us and abandon us in the desert’. In a separate call, Mrs Chandler said she had been hit with an object she believed was a gun.

A gang member told the Daily Mail last month that the couple, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, would be shot by the end of February if they were not paid a $3million ransom.
The Chandlers are being held in rugged areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small inland town of Amara but are moved every 48 hours.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has already insisted the Government will not become involved in any ransom payments.

A Foreign Office spokesman last night said: ‘We are doing everything we can to help secure their release.’

This article was sourced from www.dailymail.co.uk

“We die first before they get freed,” said one of the pirates, contacted by satellite telephone.

Paul and Rachel Chandler, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured on October 23 as they sailed their yacht, the 38ft Lynn Rival, from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.

The pirates’ new threat follows reports that an operation mounted by the Special Boat Service to rescue the couple was “bungled” before it could reach them because of technical problems.

If anyone interrupts our negotiations to get the payment of a ransom, it will be a risk for them [the Chandlers],” said “Gelle”, one of the pirates guarding the couple. “So we advise that no one interrupts our current good discussions.”

In the only comment that held some hope for the Chandlers, Gelle said that they had lowered their demand from $7m to $2m “or whatever price that we agree”. It was a clear signal that the pirates are open to offers.

Last week a Greek tanker, Maran Centaurus, was released for a reported $5.5m to $7m.

Gelle said that his group had spoken yesterday and on Friday with one of five brokers supposedly involved in negotiating a ransom. He said he believed the brokers were negotiating with “close relatives of our hostages, or other people trusted on behalf of them”.

The pirates are based in Haradheere, a fishing village north of the capital, Mogadishu. As well as the Chandlers, pirates are holding 11 ships, including the British-flagged chemical tanker St James Park which was seized on December 28.

Chandler, 59, said in an earlier telephone interview with ITV News, broadcast last week, that he and his wife, 55, had been separated and beaten and that he expected to be killed within “three or four days”.

Gelle denied the Chandlers were living under difficult conditions. “Okay, maybe they don’t feel good or comfortable but according to us they are fine,” he said.

“We also live in this situation so we do not think that they are that different from us. Once we get food, we share with them, and when there is a shortage of food they suffer with us.”

Paul and Rachel Chandler were captured by Somali Pirates almost 100 days ago.  They are being held captive in exchange for $7 million US dollars.   However, its been reported that the pirates would be willing to ’settle’ with approximately $100,000.

This site has been created not to argue the merits of hostage negotiations nor figure out a solution to end the piracy problem.  It was created with the sole purpose of obtaining freedom for Paul and Rachel Chandler!

My commitment is to create a vehicle where by people can donate for the cause.  Im also committed to helping facilitate the exchange – money for the Chandlers.   If by any reason, the money raised by this site is NOT used towards the ransom of the Chandlers, then I WILL offer the donors an option of full MONEY BACK or they can have me direct the funds to the family on their behalf.

As stated in the “about” section of this site, my goal is not to make money from this tragic event.  As a matter of fact, I have already put several hundred dollars and a LOT of hours into this with my only goal of seeing these two innocent people escape their captors.

Now you can help a cause AND have a Money Back Guarantee!

SaveTheChandlers.com was created in an attempt to raise both awareness and money to help gain the Chandlers freedom.  Via many emails from concerned citizens and heavy web traffic, it appears that more people are following as this tragic event unfolds.  However, Im sad to say that we have only raised a little over $100. If each viewer would have donated $10, I wouldn’t be writing this post right now!

We all have our opinions as to how to “handle” this situation.  Some believe that negotiations with pirates only encourages more kidnappings.  Others feel that we should give the money and help Paul and Rachel resume their peaceful lives.

Regardless of your personal and political beliefs around this matter, it appears we may be coming up against a deadline for action.   Considering the latest news obtained from telephone conversations with the Chandlers, the time to act is now!

Here are the facts:

Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Merchant Maritime Warfare Center (MMWC) and its chairman Nick Davis, they raised $100,000 which the pirates agreed would be enough to free them.

Unfortunately, the UK Government intervened and blocked the transaction so they could not make the exchange.

What I propose:

Since it appears that there IS money available and the only thing preventing their freedom is the UK Government, I propose a way in which the government does not have to be involved in the exchange!

The internet is a wonderful tool and should be used in this case as well!  By using a method of money transfer such as PayPal or even wire transfer to an account, we could effectively give the pirates the previously agreed upon sum of $100,000 US.    All they need to do is set up an account in their country and we can transfer the funds.

This can be performed in 2 stages so both parties will feel protected.  I suggest that we transfer $50,000 UPON Rachel Chadlers SAFE release and confirmed passage back to the UK.  When she is free, we will give them the money as a way of showing that we are willing to complete the exchange.  The pirates will still have Paul as collateral that we will perform our part.

After her exchange, the pirates should be able to see that we are willing to work with them and eager to exchange Paul for the remaining $50,000, also for his safe and confirmed release.

If you are someone who can represent the pirates, I suggest you contact me.

If you are a member of the MMWC and still have access to the funds, I suggest you contact me.

If you are a concerned citizen who wants to help (either through money or other support), I suggest you contact me!

Once again, my goal is not to challenge the pros and cons of hostage negotiations, its merely to see that Paul and Rachel have a chance to live out their natural lives!

Repeated responses from the British Government have stated that they will not participate in negotiations with pirates.  While the ransom was first set at $7 million, several weeks ago the pirates agreed to a much lessor amount of $100,000.  The funds were raised however the exchange was blocked by the government.

CNN affiliate ITN has reported in separate telephone interviews that the couple pleaded for help and said they were fearful of being days away from death.

During the conversation with Rachel Chandler, she said “dying would actually be an easy way out” and that she wanted to see Paul “at least once before we die.”   She also told the reporter that she had not seen her husband for two weeks since they were violently separated.

“I’ve broken a tooth because I was hit on the head with something, probably the butt of a gun…I don’t know…and yes, so we have been physically attacked.”

Rachel continued to say, “They’ve just told me that if they dont get the money within for or five days they’ll kill one of us.”

In tears, she asked for a message to be passed along to her husband.   “The message to him is hang on for me because I hope – my biggest hope – is that I shall see him at least once before we die.”

She added: “It’s hard not to feel , well, dying would actually be an easy way out.  It’s hard to explain but it is when you’re all on your own in this country and you’ve no idea where you are and no idea when something might happen and whether I’ll see Paul again.  It’s just very, very despairing”

During a separate telephone interview one day earlier, Paul Chandler, 59, described how they were separated and savagely beaten.

“We tried to stay together and they threw us to the ground and whipped us and beat Rachel with a rifle butt and I was dragged off, taken to a different location.”

“I was allowed to telephone her about 12 days ago.  She said she was being tormented all the time and then she said she was giving up.   They’ve lost patience.  They set a deadline of three or four days, if they don’t hear, then they say they will let us die.”

“We’re held in solitary confinement effectively.  You know it’s just [like being] treated as a captive animal.”

It was not clear under what conditions the captives, who have been in sporadic telephone and video contact with journalists, had been allowed telephone access. ITN said both conversations had been shared with the British Home Office and his family.

Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s official line on hostages says “the government will not make substantive concession for hostage takers, including the payments of ransom.”

Pirates have been very active off the east coast of Africa in the past several years, operating out of lawless Somalia.

Last week, pirates attempted to hijack an Indian crude oil vessel 105 nautical miles from Somalia, the EU’s anti-piracy naval force said. The pirates opened fire on the ship and were later arrested.

Piracy on the high-seas reached a six-year high in 2009, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors shipping crimes.