Church Life

Kidnapped German Aid Official Released in India

Relief agency coalition staged numerous demonstrations calling for worker’s freedom

Christianity Today April 1, 2003

Wolfgang Heinrich, a German church aid worker kidnapped in March in the Indian state of Manipur was released on Wednesday, after 18 days in captivity.

“We are very happy. The strong protests by the people made his release possible,” said O. Z. Meitei, a Baptist theologian in Manipur who coordinated a campaign for Heinrich’s release. Meitei said Heinrich was released “safe and sound” by his kidnappers in a village 30 kilometers from Manipur’s capital, Imphal.

Heinrich, a staff member of the German Protestant Church Development Service (EED), was abducted on March 23 during a visit to Manipur to review the work of a group being funded by his agency. An insurgent group in Manipur called the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) said in March it had kidnapped the German church worker. The KLA is fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Kuki hill people in Manipur.

Meitei insisted “no ransom was paid” for Heinrich’s freedom. “He was released because of widespread protests.”

Various NGOs had formed a joint action committee to campaign for Heinrich’s release, noted Meitei, and had staged demonstrations in Manipur and beyond, with numbers ranging from 50 in village areas to thousands in urban areas. The NGOs had also warned that the abduction might halt development activities in the region funded by foreign agencies.

In a statement released from its headquarters in Bonn, Germany the EED said it had received “messages of solidarity that reached us from churches, ecumenical and social institutions as well as development agencies in India, Germany and other parts of the world.”

The agency also paid tribute to the efforts of the German foreign ministry and its embassy in New Delhi, and the work of the Indian government and local authorities to secure Heinrich’s release.

Copyright © 2003 ENI

Related Elsewhere

Additional coverage of the kidnapping include:

Indian tribal rebels free kidnapped German—Reuters (April 10, 2003)

KLA says no money taken for release of German national—Press Trust of India (April 10, 2003)

Wolfgang finally released—E-Pao.net (April 10, 2003)

Kidnapped German freed in ManipurIndian Express (April 9, 2003)

Kidnapped German will be released next week—AFP (April 2, 2003)

Talks planned on kidnapped German—DPA (March 31, 2003)

Tipnis remanded to five-day custodyThe Sangai Express (March 31, 2003)

Indian tribal rebels say kidnapped German safe—Reuters (March 31, 2003)

German not kidnapped for ransom but against NGOs’ bias—Press Trust of India (March 29, 2003)

Manipur tense, police looks for abducted German—Press Trust of India (March 27, 2003)

German kidnap ransom stalemate—BBC (March 27, 2003)

Tribal rebels kidnap German in India—ABC News (March 27, 2003)

For more stories on India, see Christianity Today‘s World Report.

Our Latest

Ethics Aren’t Graded on a Curve

President Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden was wrong, and no amount of bad behavior from Donald Trump changes that fact.

News

UK Christians Lament Landmark Vote to Legalize Assisted Dying 

Pro-life faith leaders say Parliament’s proposed bill fails to protect the vulnerable and fear it will “create more suffering and chaos.”

Strike Up the Band: Sixpence None the Richer Goes Back on Tour

With its perennial hit “Kiss Me” still in our ears and on our playlists, the Christian band reunites with nothing to prove.

Christianity Today’s Book of the Year

Two volumes rose to the head of the class.

The Christianity Today Book Awards

Our picks for the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.

The Bulletin

Matrescence with Lucy Jones

 

The Bulletin welcomes Lucy Jones for a conversation with Clarissa Moll on the neuroscience and social transformation of motherhood. 

Testimony

I Demolished My Faith for ‘My Best Life.’ It Only Led to Despair.

Queer love, polyamory, and drugs ruined me. That’s where Jesus found me.

The Book Screwtape Feared Most

Once a bedrock Christian classic, Boethius’s “Consolation of Philosophy” has been neglected for decades. It’s time for a revival.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube