"As long as I live, I will not let suffering be normal."
456: Kayla Mueller
Human Rights Activist and Christian Aid Worker
Born: 14 August 1988, Prescott, Arizona, United States of America
Died: 6 February 2015, Syria
Kayla was taken captive by the Islamic State after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria. She was held for a year and a half and subjected to torture and rape by the leader of ISIL; with him even declaring Kayla was his wife.
In February of 2015—after the Islamic State tweeted that Kayla had been killed in a bombing, President Obama announced her death—however, as of 2018, Kayla’s parents are saying the only proof they have of their daughter’s death is an email from the Islamic State claiming she was given Islamic Rites before burial in an undisclosed location—and the photos for “proof of death” were deemed scientifically inconclusive by an expert hired by her parents.
Three ISIL members have been captured who are known to have had a hand in Kayla’s torture and yet as of September 2018 none of them were charged with crimes against her in the United States or anywhere else.
In late 2019, President Trump authorized a raid that led to the eventual death of the leader of ISIL. The raid was named in honor of Kayla.
Her parents are waiting for news as to the whereabouts of Kayla’s body, and for justice to be served.
According to the book Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorism by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, Kayla's exact date of death was given by a high-ranking, female ISIL member, who was in charge of holding Kayla hostage for a time. The woman also held Yazidi women who had been kidnapped hostage as well. Thousands of Yazidi women have been taken by ISIL to use as sex-slaves.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorists by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Sources:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/family-slain-isis-hostage-kayla-mueller-secretly-met/story?id=66573404
https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/02/10/kayla-s-family-never-nixed-rescue-plan
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142282271/kayla-jean-mueller