STAFFORD TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Friends of an American contractor kidnapped in Saudi Arabia placed yellow ribbons on trees as family members huddled together Sunday in New Jersey and Florida and prayed for his quick release.
A purported al-Qaida statement, posted late Saturday on an Islamic Web site, included a passport-size photo of Paul Johnson and a Lockheed Martin business card bearing his name. The statement threatened to treat Johnson as U.S. troops treated Iraqi prisoners – a reference to sexual and other abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
“I just don’t want to hear bad news because I know they’re sadistic,” said his brother, Wayne Johnson, 48, who spent Sunday watching television news at his home in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township, N.J.
“The more people know about it then maybe they can get him out safe,” he said.
Lockheed Martin issued a statement confirming that Johnson was missing. The U.S. Embassy said it was working with Saudi officials to find the kidnapped American.
Paul Johnson was kidnapped during a week in which three other Westerners were killed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, including Robert Jacobs, of Murphysboro, Ill.
Jacobs, a 62-year-old employee of U.S. defense contractor Vinnell Corp., was killed in his parking garage Tuesday. Several Islamic Web sites were carrying links to a videotape – purportedly from al-Qaida – that claims to show Jacobs being killed.
Paul Johnson Jr. had been in the Air Force and worked on radar systems for Apache helicopters, his son said. He was supposed to return to the United States this month for a visit, but the trip was pushed back until the fall.
“I would do anything I could to switch places with him in a heartbeat,” said Paul Johnson III, a drywall contractor who has a 3-year-old son his father hasn’t met.
“Get my dad home safely,” his son said. “He doesn’t deserve this. My father’s a good man. I wish the Gulf War hadn’t happened. It’s not just my father. Everybody is losing their lives.”
Johnson’s family in New Jersey is devastated by the news, said Barbara Pagliughi, a home health aide for Johnson Jr.’s mother, Delores Johnson.
“They don’t know what’s going on. They learned through the media,” Pagliughi said. “Nobody came and contacted them. Nobody knows where he is, whether he’s alive, if they’ve tortured him.”
Lockheed Martin released a statement Sunday that said: “We believe he has been kidnapped, but we have no information on his status or whereabouts. We will continue to work with U.S. and Saudi government and military officials and the family of Mr. Johnson to provide any assistance possible. Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul Johnson and his family.”
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