On Wednesday's All Things Considered, NPR's Ari Shapiro spotlighted Cage, a British organization that ran to the defense of "Jihadi John," the ISIS member who infamously beheaded several hostages on video. Shaprio slanted toward Cage by playing four soundbites from two talking heads from the organization, as well as a clip from the terrorist himself, who has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi.
By contrast, the correspondent only played three soundbites from critics of the "controversial organization," as host Melissa Block put it in her introduction for Shapiro's report. Block outlined that "an organization in London called Cage has become central to his [Emwazi's] story. The group advocates for people who say they have been mistreated in the war on terror. The director of Cage is a former Guantanamo detainee."
The All Things Considered host actually did better than the Washington Post and CNN in pointing out that the organization is led by a former Gitmo prisoner. Neither media outlet mentioned this detail in coverage of the group in reporting at the end of February 2015. However, Block omitted that Cage explicitly states on its website that it's "been campaigning against the War on Terror for more than a decade. Its work has focussed on working with survivors of abuse and mistreatment across the globe."
Shapiro led with two clips from the organization's research director, Asim Qureshi, who claimed that Emwazi was "extremely kind, extremely gentle, extremely soft-spoken." The NPR journalist noted that "Qureshi implied that British security services drove Emwazi to radicalism by harassing him; trying to recruit him; and preventing him from visiting his fiancee in Kuwait."
After playing his clip from Emwazi, which was from a cache of "e-mails and recorded interviews" that Cage recently released, Shapiro played a soundbite from London Mayor Boris Johnson, who recently slammed the group. However, he followed this with two more clips from Cage spokesman Cerie Bullivant, who likened the CIA, and by extension, the U.S. government, to the homicidal Islamist group:
CERIE BULLIVANT, CAGE SPOKESMAN: If you want to put what happened to Alan Henning in modern security parleance, he was rendered from the convoy. Then, he suffered enhanced interrogation techniques. And then, he was dispatched by executive order. And for us, it's just as illegal when ISIS do (sic) it as when the CIA do it.
The correspondent did acknowledged that Bullivant's statement "may sound deliberately provocative," but forwarded the Cage member's spin about it – that "what sounds outrageous to many people helps Cage build bridges to groups that feel alienated from Western society."
Near the end of the segment, Shapiro pointed out the criticism of Cage from an atheist former member of Amnesty International, who claims that "the Cage website glorifies some of the most senior figures in al Qaeda." Indeed, the "cases" section of the website includes deceased Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula leader, Anwar al-Awlaki; and "Lady al Qaeda," Aafia Siddiqui, who had connections to 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, and is married to Ammar al-Baluchi, who helped fund some of the 9/11 hijackers. They also have a "case" page for noted Islamist Omar Bakri.
The full transcript of Ari Shapiro's report from Wednesday's All Things Considered on NPR:
MELISSA BLOCK: New details are emerging daily about Mohammed Emwazi. He's the masked man known as 'Jihadi John,' who appears in execution videos by the self-declared Islamic State. An organization in London called Cage has become central to his story. The group advocates for people who say they have been mistreated in the war on terror. The director of Cage is a former Guantanamo detainee.
NPR's Ari Shapiro has more on this controversial organization.
ARI SHAPIRO: As soon as Mohammed Emwazi's identity was revealed last week, Cage called a press conference here in London.
ASIM QURESHI, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, CAGE: The Mohammed that I knew was extremely kind, extremely gentle, extremely soft-spoken.
SHAPIRO: Cage's research director, Asim Qureshi, said he first met the Kuwaiti-born Londoner in 2009, and Qureshi implied that British security services drove Emwazi to radicalism by harassing him; trying to recruit him; and preventing him from visiting his fiancee in Kuwait.
QURESHI: We have created, here in the U.K., an environment in which the security agencies can act with impunity – can destroy the lives of young people.
SHAPIRO: Intelligence officials say Emwazi tried to join the terrorist group al-Shabab before security services ever confronted him. After the press conference, Cage released piles of information about Emwazi – e-mails and recorded interviews, where Emwazi describes his interactions with British intelligence services.
MOHAMMED EMWAZI: He started telling me, what do you think of 9/11? I told him, this is a wrong thing. What happened was wrong. You know, what -- would you want -- would you want to say it?
SHAPIRO: Cage says it is trying to explain Emwazi's path. To critics, it sounds like the group is trying to justify his behavior.
On Tuesday, London Mayor Boris Johnson attacked a spokesman for the group on a radio show.
BORIS JOHNSON, LONDON MAYOR: The focus of your indignation should be on people who throw gays off cliffs; that behead people who don't subscribe to their version of Islam; that glorify in the execution of innocent journalists. They should be the object of your wrath, not the security services.
SHAPIRO: Members of Cage say they do not support ISIS; and have, in fact, vocally argued for the release of hostages.
Spokesman Cerie Bullivant told me the group worked in public and behind the scenes on the case of Alan Henning. But then, he gave this description of the way ISIS treated the British aid worker.
CERIE BULLIVANT, CAGE SPOKESMAN: If you want to put what happened to Alan Henning in modern security parleance, he was rendered from the convoy. Then, he suffered enhanced interrogation techniques. And then, he was dispatched by executive order. And for us, it's just as illegal when ISIS do (sic) it as when the CIA do it.
SHAPIRO: That may sound deliberately provocative. Bullivant says what sounds outrageous to many people helps Cage build bridges to groups that feel alienated from Western society.
BULLIVANT: The reason we have all of the primary sources in so many stories is because the community trusts us to come to us and tell them what's going on.
SHAPIRO: For many, it's a bridge too far.
Gita Sahgal runs a human rights group called the Centre for Secular Space.
GITA SAHGAL, CENTRE FOR SECULAR SPACE: This is active promotion of a certain form of jihadism.
SHAPIRO: Sahgal publicly resigned from a senior position at Amnesty International over the group's association with Cage. She says the Cage website glorifies some of the most senior figures in al Qaeda.
SAHGAL: And so, there was an atmosphere where you were basically bound to see these not simply as people who were facing human rights violations, but people who should be listened to and followed. That's very, very disturbing.
SHAPIRO: Sahgal left Amnesty in 2010. Amnesty's director for Europe and Central Asia put out a statement this week, saying, 'We are currently undergoing a review of our policy regarding any future association with the group Cage.' Ari Shapiro, NPR News, London.
