A statement attributed to the Al-Qaeda group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on an Islamist website has called for the release of kidnapped Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan in Iraq "unless she is proven to be a collaborator."
"We call on those responsible for her captivity to release her unless she is proven to be a collaborator" with the US-led forces, said the statement, whose authenticity could not be confirmed.
"If this (collaboration) is proven, they should show it clearly to people lest our (Islamic) religion is accused of things that are not true," the statement said.
It criticised Hassan's abductors for saying they would turn her over to Zarqawi's group, adding that if they did so, "we will release her immediately unless she is proven to have conspired against Muslims".