Release
On August 27, the Palestinian news service Ramattan and Fox News reported that Centanni and fellow captive Wiig were released unharmed, shortly after a new video was released. In the video, both journalists, wearing beige robes, read statements saying that they had converted to Islam, with Centanni stating "Islam is not just meant for some people; it is the true religion for all people at all times." After being freed Steve Centanni stated "We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, and don't get me wrong here, I have the highest respect for Islam, and learned a lot of very good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do, because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on."
After their return to New York, Centanni and Wiig gave an interview with Greta Van Susteren on her Fox program On the Record. According to Wiig, the kidnappers were convinced that Centanni worked for the CIA, in part because of his presence as a journalist at the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein in Iraq, and that they intended to kill him. Nevertheless, they also repeatedly promised both men they would soon be freed.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Fox Journalists Kidnapping
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