歐洲人質贖金資助基地組織

BAMAKO, Mali — The cash filled three suitcases: 5 million euros.

馬裏巴馬科——三個手提箱裏裝滿了500萬歐元。

The German official charged with delivering this cargo arrived here aboard a nearly empty military plane and was whisked away to a secret meeting with the president of Mali, who had offered Europe a face-saving solution to a vexing problem.

負責送錢的德國官員乘坐空蕩蕩的軍機抵達巴馬科，然後匆匆奔赴與馬裏總統的祕密會議。在這個棘手問題上，馬裏總統爲歐洲提供了一個保全顏面的解決方法。

Officially, Germany had budgeted the money as humanitarian aid for the poor, landlocked nation of Mali.

表面上，德國打算將這筆錢劃歸爲人道主義援助，幫助內陸國家馬裏的窮人。瑞典人伊克勒保留的2003年遭綁架54天期間的物品。他在德國生活，在阿爾及利亞進行探險之旅時被聖戰分子綁架。

Gordon Welters for The New York Times

瑞典人伊克勒保留的2003年遭綁架54天期間的物品。他在德國生活，在阿爾及利亞進行探險之旅時被聖戰分子綁架。

In truth, all sides understood that the cash was bound for an obscure group of Islamic extremists who were holding 32 European hostages, according to six senior diplomats directly involved in the exchange.

事實上，據六名直接參與交換人質的高級外交官透露，各方都知道這些錢是給一個鮮爲人知的伊斯蘭極端組織的。他們控制着32名歐洲人質。

The suitcases were loaded onto pickup trucks and driven hundreds of miles north into the Sahara, where the bearded fighters, who would soon become an official arm of Al Qaeda, counted the money on a blanket thrown on the sand. The 2003 episode was a learning experience for both sides. Eleven years later, the handoff in Bamako has become a well-rehearsed ritual, one of dozens of such transactions repeated all over the world.

小貨車運載着三個手提箱，向北行駛數百英里到撒哈拉沙漠。一羣蓄着鬍鬚的武裝分子將毯子扔到沙地上，並在上面數錢。不久之後，他們就成了基地組織(Al Qaeda)的正式分支。2003年的事件對於雙方來說都是一次學習的經歷。11年後，巴馬科的這種交換活動已經成了一種輕車熟路的儀式，是世界範圍內上演的幾十樁類似交易中的一個。

Kidnapping Europeans for ransom has become a global business for Al Qaeda, bankrolling its operations across the globe.

爲了獲得贖金綁架歐洲人已經成爲基地組織的一項全球業務，爲其在世界各地的行動提供資金。

While European governments deny paying ransoms, an investigation by The New York Times found that Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just in the past year.

雖然歐洲國家的政府否認支付贖金，但《紐約時報》的調查發現，自2008年起，基地組織及其直屬分支機構通過綁架至少獲得了1.25億美元（約合7.7億元人民幣）的收入，其中單是去年就有6600萬美元進賬。

In various news releases and statements, the United States Treasury Department has cited ransom amounts that, taken together, put the total at around $165 million over the same period.

將各種新聞稿和聲明中美國財政部援引的數據合起來，這一時期的贖金總額約爲1.65億美元。

These payments were made almost exclusively by European governments, who funnel the money through a network of proxies, sometimes masking it as development aid, according to interviews conducted for this article with former hostages, negotiators, diplomats and government officials in 10 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The inner workings of the kidnapping business were also revealed in thousands of pages of internal Qaeda documents found by this reporter while on assignment for The Associated Press in northern Mali last year.

我們採訪了來自歐洲、非洲和中東地區10個國家的前人質、談判者、外交官及政府官員。據他們透露，這些贖金幾乎都是由歐洲國家的政府通過代理人網絡支付的，有時會以發展援助款項的名義進行掩飾。去年在馬裏北部爲美聯社(The Associated Press)工作時，記者找到了基地組織的內部相關文件。數千頁的資料披露了綁架活動的內部運作情況。

In its early years Al Qaeda received most of its money from deep-pocketed donors, but counterterrorism officials now believe the group finances the bulk of its recruitment, training and arms purchases from ransoms paid to free Europeans.

基地組織早期接收的大部分資金來自慷慨的捐助者，但是反恐官員現在認爲，該組織招募、培訓成員及購買武器所需的大部分費用，如今源自釋放歐洲人質獲得的贖金。

Put more bluntly, Europe has become an inadvertent underwriter of Al Qaeda.

說白了，歐洲無意中成爲了基地組織的資助方。

The foreign ministries of France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany denied in emails or telephone interviews that they had paid the terrorists. “The French authorities have repeatedly stated that France does not pay ransoms,” said Vincent Floreani, deputy director of communication for France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

法國、瑞士、奧地利、意大利及德國的外交部均在郵件或電話採訪中否認曾付錢給恐怖分子。法國外交部負責通訊聯絡的副主管樊尚·弗洛雷亞尼 (Vincent Floreani)表示，“法國政府一再重申沒有繳付贖金。”

Several senior diplomats involved in past negotiations have described the decision to ransom their citizens as an agonizing calculation: accede to the terrorists'demand, or allow innocent people to be killed, often in a gruesome, public way?

幾名曾參與談判的高級外交官稱，以贖金來拯救公民的決定是一個極其痛苦的考量：向恐怖分子屈服，或者任由他們殺害無辜民衆，而且往往是以恐怖而公開的方式。

Yet the fact that Europe and its intermediaries continue to pay has set off a vicious cycle.

然而，歐洲及其中間人持續繳納贖金的做法引發了惡性循環。

"Kidnapping for ransom has become today's most significant source of terrorist financing," said David S. Cohen, the Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a 2012 speech. "Each transaction encourages another transaction."

“通過綁架賺取贖金已經成爲恐怖分子時下最主要的經費來源，”美國財政部負責反恐與金融情報的副部長戴維·S·科恩(David S. Cohen)在2012年發表講話時說。“每一樁交易都催生了另一樁交易。”

And business is booming: While in 2003 the kidnappers received around $200,000 per hostage, now they are netting up to $10 million, money that the second in command of Al Qaeda's central leadership recently described as accounting for as much as half of his operating revenue.

這項業務正在迅速發展：2003年，綁匪從每名人質身上賺取約20萬美元，現在的要價則可高達1000萬美元。基地組織核心領導層的二把手最近表示，贖金收入佔了運營進項的一半。

"Kidnapping hostages is an easy spoil," wrote Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "which I may describe as a profitable trade and a precious treasure."

“綁架人質很容易得到獎賞，”阿拉伯半島基地組織(Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula)的頭目納賽爾·烏海什(Nasser al-Wuhayshi)寫道。“我得說這是筆利潤可觀的生意，也是珍貴的寶藏。”

The stream of income generated is so significant that internal documents show that as long as five years ago, Al Qaeda's central command in Pakistan was overseeing negotiations for hostages grabbed as far afield as Africa. Moreover, the accounts of survivors held thousands of miles apart show that the three main affiliates of the terrorist group — Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in northern Africa; Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen; and the Shabab, in Somalia — are coordinating their efforts, and abiding by a common kidnapping protocol.

收入源源不斷，規模驚人，內部文件顯示，早在五年前，基地組織設在巴基斯坦的中央指揮部就在人質的談判工作上發號施令，涉及的人質最遠在非洲遭到綁架。此外，根據關押地相隔數千英里的不同倖存者的描述，該恐怖組織的三大分支——位於北非的伊斯蘭馬格里布基地組織(Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)、位於也門的阿拉伯半島基地組織以及位於索馬里的青年黨(Shabab)——共同合作，遵守通用的綁架協議。

To minimize the risk to their fighters, the terror affiliates have outsourced the seizing of hostages to criminal groups who work on commission. Negotiators take a reported 10 percent of the ransom, creating an incentive on both sides of the Mediterranean to increase the overall payout, according to former hostages and senior counterterrorism officials.

爲了將武裝分子面臨的風險降至最低，這幾家恐怖主義分支機構把綁票的任務外包給犯罪集團，後者抽取佣金。曾被綁架的人士和高級反恐官員透露，談判者據稱會抽取10%的贖金。這樣，地中海兩邊均有動力來增加整體金額。

Their business plan includes a step-by-step process for negotiating, starting with long periods of silence aimed at creating panic back home. Hostages are then shown on videos begging their government to negotiate.

他們的綁架計劃包括循序漸進的談判過程，首先要長時間保持沉默，以便在相關國家引發恐慌，然後公佈人質懇求本國政府談判的錄像。

Although the kidnappers threaten to kill their victims, a review of the known cases revealed that only a small percentage of hostages held by Qaeda's affiliates have been executed in the past five years, a marked turnaround from a decade ago, when videos showing beheadings of foreigners held by the group's franchise in Iraq would regularly turn up online. Now the group has realized it can advance the cause of jihad by keeping hostages alive and trading them for prisoners and suitcases of cash.
雖然綁匪威脅要殺死人質，但本報查看已知案例後發現，在過去五年中，只有少數被基地組織分支機構挾持的人質遭處決。比起10年前的情況，這是一種明顯的轉變。那時候，基地組織在伊拉克的分支機構對外國人質實施斬首的錄像會經常出現在網上。如今，該組織意識到，他們可以留住人質的活口，用他們交換囚犯和贖金，以此推動聖戰事業的發展。
Only a handful of countries have resisted paying, led by the United States and Britain. Although both these countries have negotiated with extremist groups — evidenced most recently by the United States' trade of Taliban prisoners for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — they have drawn the line when it comes to ransoms.
只有以美國和英國爲首的少數國家拒絕繳付贖金。雖然這兩個國家都曾與極端組織談判——美國最近用多名塔利班囚犯交換鮑·貝里達爾中士(Bowe Bergdahl)的做法證實了這一點——但在贖金這一點上，他們劃清了底線。
It is a decision that has had dire consequences. While dozens of Europeans have been released unharmed, few American or British nationals have gotten out alive. A lucky few ran away, or were rescued by special forces. The rest were executed or are being held indefinitely.
這個決定帶來了嚴重後果。數十名歐洲人安然無恙地獲釋，卻很少有美國人或英國人能活着回來。少數人幸運地逃脫，或被特種部隊拯救。剩下的不是被處決，就是遭到無限期關押。
"The Europeans have a lot to answer for," said Vicki Huddleston, the former United States deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, who was the ambassador to Mali in 2003 when Germany paid the first ransom. "It's a completely two-faced policy. They pay ransoms, and then deny any was paid," she said. "The danger of this is not just that it grows the terrorist movement, but it makes all of our citizens vulnerable."
薇姬·赫德爾斯頓(Vicki Huddleston)曾擔任副助理國防部長，負責非洲事務。2003年德國繳付第一筆贖金的時候，她是美國駐馬裏大使。“歐洲人需要解釋的事情有很多，”她說。“這完全是一種兩面派的政策。他們繳付贖金，但又不承認。這樣做不單助長了恐怖活動，也讓我們的所有民衆都處於危險境況。”
'Not Just Normal Criminals'
“絕非普通罪犯”
The exploits of the band of fighters in the Sahara did not go unnoticed.
撒哈拉沙漠中那羣武裝分子的所作所爲並未消逝在風中。
A year later, in 2004, a Qaeda operative, Abdelaziz al-Muqrin, published a how-to guide to kidnapping, in which he highlighted the successful ransom negotiation of "our brothers in Algeria." Yet at the same time, he also praised the execution of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was grabbed in Pakistan in 2002 and beheaded nine days later by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a senior Qaeda member believed to be one of the architects of the Sept. 11 attacks.
一年後，也就是在2004年，一個名爲阿卜杜勒阿齊茲·穆格林(Abdelaziz al-Muqrin)的基地組織行動人員發佈了一份綁架指南，其中突出強調了“我們在阿爾及利亞的兄弟”成功完成的這筆贖金談判交易。不過與此同時，他還對處決《華爾街日報》(Wall Street Journal)記者丹尼爾‧珀爾(Daniel Pearl)一事表示稱讚。珀爾於2002年在巴基斯坦被捉拿，九天後遭基地組織高層哈立德·謝赫·穆罕默德(Khalid Shaikh Mohammed)斬首。據信，穆罕默德是9·11恐怖襲擊的主謀之一。
Within a few years, there was a split within Al Qaeda, with the group's affiliate in Iraq grabbing foreigners specifically to kill them.
幾年之內，基地組織內部發生路線分歧，位於伊拉克的分支機構專門抓外國人並加以殺害。
In Algeria, the kidnappers of the European tourists followed a different path.
在阿爾及利亞，綁架歐洲遊客的人選擇了一條不同的道路。
They used the 5 million euros as the seed money for their movement, recruiting and training fighters who staged a series of devastating attacks. They grew into a regional force and were accepted as an official branch of the Qaeda network, which baptized them Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. As kidnapping revenue became their main lifeline, they honed and perfected the process.
他們將500萬歐元作爲自身開展運動的本錢，招募並訓練武裝分子，讓他們實施了一系列致命襲擊。他們發展成爲一股地區勢力，並獲得認可，成爲基地組織的正式分支機構，自稱“伊斯蘭馬格里布基地組織”。隨着綁架收入成爲他們的經濟命脈，他們調整並完善了流程。
By Feb. 2, 2011, when their lookouts in southern Algeria spotted a 53-year-old Italian tourist, Mariasandra Mariani, admiring the rolling dunes through a pair of binoculars, they were running a sleek operation.
2011年2月2日，該組織在阿爾及利亞南部的眼線盯上了53歲的意大利遊客馬里亞桑德拉‧馬里亞尼(Mariasandra Mariani)。她當時正舉着雙筒望遠鏡欣賞起伏的沙丘。他們乾淨利落地開展了行動。
Her tour guide was the first to spot them, and screamed at her to run. As their cars sped toward her, she sprinted to her nearby desert bungalow and locked herself inside. She could do nothing but sit frozen on the mattress as they broke down the door. They threw her in a waiting car, handcuffing her to the dashboard. Before they sped off, they made sure to place a rolled up blanket next to her, so that the jihadist sitting next to her would not accidentally make contact with a woman.
馬里亞尼的導遊首先發現了他們，並對她大喊，讓她快跑。當他們的車快速駛向馬里亞尼時，她衝到附近的沙漠小屋中並把自己反鎖在內。當綁匪破門而入時，她無能爲力，只是呆坐在牀墊上。綁匪將她塞入正在門外等候的汽車裏，把她銬在儀表臺上。在一溜煙開走之前，他們特意在她身旁放了一個卷着的毯子，避免坐在旁邊的聖戰分子不小心碰到她。
"Who are you?" she asked them.
“你們是誰？” 馬里亞尼問他們。
"We are Al Qaeda," they replied.
“我們是基地組織，”他們回答。
If previous kidnapping missions did not seem to have a thought-out plan, the gunmen who seized Ms. Mariani drove for days on what appeared to be a clearly delineated route. Whenever they were low on fuel, they would make their way to a spot that to her looked no different in the otherwise identical lunar landscape.
儘管之前的綁架任務貌似沒有周詳的計劃，但綁架馬里亞尼的持槍歹徒沿着顯然是經過策劃的路線行駛了幾天。每當燃油不足的時候，綁匪都能到達一個特定地點，但在馬里亞尼看來，那裏的周邊環境無異於月球。
Under a thorn bush, they would find a drum full of gasoline. Or a stack of tires to replace a punctured one. They never ran out of food.
他們會在荊棘叢下找到一桶滿滿的汽油，或是一堆輪胎來替換被扎破的那個，從來不缺吃的東西。
Ms. Mariani would later learn they had an infrastructure of supplies buried in the sand and marked with GPS coordinates.
馬里亞尼後來得知，他們將各種物資埋在沙裏，並用GPS座標作標記。
One afternoon they stopped just above the lip of a dune. The fighters got down and unfastened a shovel. Then she heard the sound of a car engine. Suddenly a pickup truck roared out. They had buried an entire vehicle in the mountain of sand.
一天下午，他們在一座山丘邊停了下來。武裝分子下了車，並卸下了鏟子。然後，她聽到了車子引擎發出的聲音。突然之間，一輛小貨車呼嘯而出，原來他們把整輛貨車都埋在沙丘之下。
"It was then that I realized, these aren't just normal criminals," said Ms. Mariani.

“就在那一瞬間，我意識到他們絕不是一般的罪犯，”馬里亞尼說。

Qaeda Oversight
基地組織發號施令
The bulk of the kidnappings-for-ransom carried out in Al Qaeda's name have occurred in Africa, and more recently in Yemen and Syria. These regions are thousands of miles from the terror network's central command in Pakistan. Yet audio messages released by the group, as well as confidential letters between commanders, indicate the organization's senior leaders are directly involved in the negotiations.
非洲發生了一連串以贖金爲目的的綁架事件，全都以基地組織的名義進行。最近，也門和敘利亞也出現綁架事件。這些地區距離恐怖組織位於巴基斯坦的指揮中心有數千英里之遙。但組織發佈的音頻訊息，以及指揮官之間的祕密通函，說明該組織的高級頭目直接參與了談判。
As early as 2008, a commander holding two Canadian diplomats angered his leaders by negotiating a ransom on his own. In a letter discovered by this reporter while on assignment for The A.P. in Mali last year, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb blamed the commander, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, for securing only the ""meager sum" of euros700,000 — around $1 million — saying the low amount was a result of his unwillingness to follow the instructions of their leadership in Pakistan.
早在2008年，一名挾持了兩名加拿大外交官的指揮官，因擅自洽議贖金而激怒上級。記者去年爲美聯社在馬裏工作時發現的信件顯示，伊斯蘭馬格里布基地組織指責這名指揮官——穆赫塔爾·貝爾穆赫塔爾(Mokhtar Belmokhtar)——只拿到“區區”70萬歐元（約合550萬元人民幣），並稱拿得少是因爲他不願聽從巴基斯坦領導層的指示。
In his last broadcast before his death in 2011, Osama bin Laden spoke at length about the case of four French citizens held by Al Qaeda in Mali, making clear that he was keeping close tabs on individual kidnappings.
2011年，奧薩瑪·本·拉登(Osama bin Laden)在死前的最後一次廣播之中，大談基地組織在馬裏挾持四名法國公民的事件，明確表示他在密切關注綁架個案。
Hostages held as recently as last year in Yemen say it was clear the negotiations were being handled by a distant leadership.
去年在也門被劫持的人質表示，談判很明顯都是由遠方的頭目操控的。
Atte and Leila Kaleva, a Finnish couple held for five months by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2013, deduced this from the voluminous correspondence they saw being delivered to their captors.
2013年，芬蘭夫婦阿特和蕾拉‧卡萊瓦(Atte and Leila Kaleva)被阿拉伯半島基地組織挾持了五個月。他們看到綁匪進行了大量通訊，由此得出上述結論。
"There were lots of letters back and forth," said Mr. Kaleva. "It was clear that they had a hierarchy, and they were consulting their leaders about what to do with us."
“當時有很多書信來往，”卡萊瓦先生說。“很明顯，他們是有一個等級制度的，綁匪在請示領導如何處置我們。”
A Valuable Commodity
有價值的商品
In the dozens of kidnappings that Al Qaeda has carried out, the threat of execution has hung over each hostage, reinforced in videos showing the victim next to armed and menacing jihadist guards. In fact, only a minority of hostages — just 15 percent, according to an analysis by The Times — have been executed or have died since 2008, several of them in botched rescue operations.
在由基地組織實施的數十起綁架案裏，每一個人質都曾面臨被處決的危險。視頻顯示受害者身旁都會有一些攜帶武器的氣勢洶洶的聖戰人員，愈發加劇了這種危險。事實上，根據時報的分析，自2008以來，只有少數人質（約15%）遭處決或死亡，其中幾人死於失敗的拯救行動。
The potential income hostages represent has made them too valuable to the movement. In a 2012 letter to his fellow jihadists in Africa, the man who was once Bin Laden's personal secretary and who is now the second in command of Al Qaeda, wrote that at least half of his budget in Yemen was funded by ransoms. "Thanks to Allah, most of the battle costs, if not all, were paid from through the spoils," wrote Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. "Almost half the spoils came from hostages."
人質所代表的潛在收入使他們在活動中變得很有價值。2012年，一名曾經擔任本·拉登私人祕書的男子給非洲的聖戰分子寫信稱，他們在也門活動的預算中至少有一半來自贖金。該男子現在是基地組織的二號頭目。“感謝真主，即使並非全部，但大部分戰鬥的成本都是通過戰利品支付的，”阿拉伯半島基地組織頭目納賽爾·烏海什寫道。“幾乎一半的戰利品是通過人質獲得的贖金。”
Mr. Kaleva realized his captors did not intend to kill him when he became ill with what he feared was a giardia infection, and his worried kidnappers immediately brought him medicine.
卡萊瓦先生是在生病後意識到綁匪沒有殺害他的意圖的。當時他擔心自己感染了賈第蟲病，憂心忡忡的綁匪立即拿了藥給他。
When Ms. Mariani fell ill from violent dysentery in the burning sands of the Malian desert, a jihadist doctor hooked her up to an IV, nursing her back to health.
當卡萊瓦女士在馬裏沙漠炙熱的沙地中患上嚴重痢疾時，聖戰組織的一名醫生爲她進行靜脈注射，並將她醫治好了。
Elsewhere in the Sahara, the jihadists trucked in specialized medication for a 62-year-old Frenchwoman who had breast cancer.
在撒哈拉的另一處地方，聖戰分子爲一名62歲身患乳腺癌的法國女性運來了專用藥物。
"It was clear to us," said Mr. Kaleva, “that we are more valuable to them alive than dead.”
“我們都很清楚，”卡萊瓦先生說，“對他們來說，我們活着比死了更有價值。”
Europe's Outsize Role
歐洲的巨大作用
Negotiators believe that the Qaeda branches have now determined which governments pay.
談判者認爲，基地組織各大分支已經認準了哪些政府會繳付贖金。
Of the 53 hostages known to have been taken by Qaeda's official branches in the past five years, a third were French. And small nations like Austria, Switzerland and Spain, which do not have large expatriate communities in the countries where the kidnappings occur, account for over 20 percent of the victims.
在過去五年中，確定有53人被基地組織的官方分支綁架，其中三分之一是法國人。有超過兩成的受害人來自奧地利、瑞士和西班牙等小國。在常有綁架案發生的國家裏，這些小國的外派人員較少。
By contrast, only three Americans are known to have been kidnapped by Al Qaeda or its direct affiliates, representing just 5 percent of the total.
相比之下，目前已知的被基地組織或其直屬分支綁架的美國公民只有三人，在總體中佔5%。
"For me, it's obvious that Al Qaeda is targeting them by nationality," said Jean-Paul Rouiller, the director of the Geneva Center for Training and Analysis of Terrorism, who helped set up Switzerland's counterterrorism program. "Hostages are an investment, and you are not going to invest unless you are pretty sure of a payout."
“我覺得，基地組織明顯是按國籍來鎖定目標的，”日內瓦恐怖主義訓練分析中心(Geneva Center for Training and Analysis of Terrorism)主管讓-保羅·魯耶(Jean-Paul Rouiller)說。“人質是種投資，如果你不確定會有回報，你不會進行投資。”魯耶幫助創建了瑞士反恐項目。
Mr. Cohen, the United States under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said information gathered by the Department of Treasury suggested that Al Qaeda may no longer want to kidnap Americans, a tectonic shift from a decade ago.
美國財政部負責反恐與金融情報的副部長科恩表示，財政部蒐集的信息顯示，基地組織或許不再想綁架美國人。與10年前相比，這是一個巨大的改變。
"We know that hostage takers looking for ransoms distinguish between those governments that pay ransoms and those that do not — and make a point of not taking hostages from those countries that do not pay," he said in a 2012 speech to the Chatham House think tank in London. "And recent kidnapping-for-ransom trends appear to indicate that hostage takers prefer not to take U.S. or U.K. hostages, almost certainly because they understand that they will not receive ransoms."
“我們知道，想要獲得贖金的綁匪將繳付贖金與不繳付贖金的政府區分開來，並強調不要綁架那些來自不繳付贖金的國家的人質，” 科恩2012年在智庫倫敦皇家國際事務研究所(Chatham House)發表演講時說。“最近這股綁架索財的趨勢似乎說明，綁匪不願綁架美國人或英國人。這幾乎是可以肯定的，因爲他們知道他們不會拿到贖金。”
Western countries have signed numerous agreements calling for an end to ransom paying, including as recently as last year at a G8 summit, where some of the biggest ransom payers in Europe signed a declaration agreeing to stamp out the practice. Yet according to hostages released this year and veteran negotiators, governments in Europe — especially France, Spain and Switzerland — continue to be responsible for some of the largest payments, including a ransom of euros30 million —about $40 million — paid last fall to free four Frenchmen held in Mali.
西方國家簽署了數份協議，呼籲停止交付贖金，當中包括最近一次於去年舉行的八國峯會。一些支付最高贖金的歐洲國家在此次峯會期間簽署聲明，同意杜絕此等行爲。但據今年獲釋的人質及經驗豐富的談判專家透露，歐洲國家的政府——尤其是法國、西班牙和瑞士——還是支付了高額贖金，比如法國在去年秋天支付3000萬歐元的贖金，解救四名被關押在馬裏的法國人。
The money is written off by European governments as an aid payment, or else delivered through intermediaries, like French nuclear giant Areva, a state-controlled company that a senior negotiator said paid euros12.5 million in 2011 and euros30 million in 2013 to free five French citizens. (A spokesman for Areva denied in an email that a ransom had been paid.)
這筆錢被這些歐洲國家的政府以援助金的名義勾銷，要不然就是通過中間人來轉送，比如法國核能巨頭阿海琺(Areva)。一名高級談判人員表示，這家國有企業在2011年和2013年分別付了1250萬歐元和3000萬歐元，解救五名法國人質。（阿海琺的發言人在電郵中否認該公司曾繳付贖金。）
In Yemen, the intermediaries are Qatar and Oman, who pay the ransoms on behalf of European governments, including more than $20 million for two groups of hostages released in the past year, according to European and Yemeni officials.
據歐洲和也門官員透露，在也門，卡塔爾和阿曼擔任中間人，替歐洲國家的政府支付贖金。爲了解救兩組人質，這些政府去年支付了逾2000萬美元的贖金。
Almost a year into her captivity in 2012, Mariasandra Mariani thought she could not take it anymore. Her captors were holding her in a landscape of black granite in northern Mali, which amplified the suffocating heat. When the wind blew, it felt as if someone were holding a blow dryer inches from her skin. She spent all day next to a bucket of water, sponging herself to try to keep cool.
2012年，也就是被關押將近一年的時候，馬里亞桑德拉·馬里亞尼覺得自己再也無法忍受了。綁匪將她關在馬裏北部佈滿黑花崗石的地方，這更加劇了酷暑難耐的感覺。風吹過的時候，感覺就像是有人拿着吹風機對着她的皮膚吹。她整天都待在水桶旁，用溼布擦拭自己，以保持涼爽。
She told her guard that her modest family, which grows olives in the hills above Florence, did not have the money, and that her government refused to pay ransoms. Her captor reassured her.
馬里亞尼告訴看守，她家是在佛羅倫薩的山上種植橄欖樹的，他們沒錢，政府拒絕繳付贖金。綁架她的人打消了她在這方面的擔憂。
"Your governments always say they don't pay," he told Ms. Mariani. "When you go back, I want you to tell your people that your government does pay. They always pay."
“你們的政府總是說不交贖金，”他對馬里亞尼說。“你回國之後，我要你告訴你們的人民，你們的政府會付錢的，他們每次都會付贖金。”