KEY POINTS:
New Zealander Harmeet Sooden and two hostages freed with him have publicly forgiven their Iraqi kidnappers.
Mr Sooden, Briton Norman Kember and Canadian James Loney made their statement in London where they had their first meeting since they were released in March after 118 days in captivity in Iraq.
They issued a statement at a press conference one year on from the day their kidnappers threatened to kill them unless their demands were met.
A fourth hostage, American Tom Fox, was shot dead two weeks before the three were released.
The former hostages said they understood a number of men alleged to be their captors had been apprehended, charged with kidnapping and were facing trial in Iraq.
"We have been asked by the police in our respective countries to testify in the trial. After much reflection upon our traditions, both Sikh and Christian, we are issuing this statement today.
"We unconditionally forgive our captors for abducting and holding us. We have no desire to punish them. Punishment can never restore what was taken from us.
"What our captors did was wrong. They caused us, our families and our friends great suffering. Yet we bear no malice towards them and have no wish for retribution.
"Should those who have been charged with holding us hostage be brought to trial and convicted, we ask that they be granted all possible leniency.
"We categorically lay aside any rights we may have over them."
The men said they thought the catastrophic levels of violence and the lack of effective protection of human rights in Iraq were inextricably linked to the US-led invasion and occupation.
"As for many others, the actions of our kidnappers were part of a cycle of violence they themselves experienced.
"While this in no way justifies what the men charged with our kidnapping are alleged to have done, we feel this must be considered in any potential judgment."
The four men were members of a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation to Iraq when they were kidnapped in November last year by a group calling themselves the Swords of Righteousness Brigade.
The three said that through the power of forgiveness, it was their hope that good deeds would come from the lives of their captors, "and that we will all learn to reject the use of violence. We believe those who use violence against others are themselves harmed by the use of violence".
"Kidnapping is a capital offence in Iraq and we understand that some of our captors could be sentenced to death. The death penalty is an irrevocable judgment. It erases all possibility that those who have harmed others, even seriously, can yet turn to good. We categorically oppose the death penalty," they said.
"By this commitment to forgiveness we hope to plant a seed that one day will bear the fruits of healing and reconciliation for us, our captors, the peoples of Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and most of all, Iraq."
- NZPA
