Thomas Sutherland

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by tpksstories

by tpksstories

Thomas Sutherland (May 3, 1931 –July 22, 2016), Dean of Agriculture at the American University ofBeirut in Lebanon, was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad members near hisBeirut home on June 9, 1985. He was released on November 18, 1991 atthe same time as Terry Waite, having been held hostage for 2,353days.

Early life and kidnapping

Born in Falkirk, Scotland on May 3,1931, Sutherland was signed as a 17-year-old by Rangers F.C. Sutherland obtained a BSc in Agriculture from the University ofGlasgow, and moved to the United States in the 1950s. He was receiveda master's degree and PhD in animal breeding from Iowa StateUniversity, then taught animal science at Colorado State Universityfor 26 years. He moved to Beirut in 1983 for a three-year term asdean of the faculty of agriculture and food science in the AmericanUniversity in Beirut. Despite the assassination of UniversityPresident Malcolm H. Kerr and the kidnapping of Professor FrankReiger in 1984, and despite being warned repeatedly by the StateDepartment to leave, Sutherland remained at the University. Twoweeks after David P. Jacobsen was abducted, Sutherland was alsokidnapped while using the limousine of University President CalvinPlimpton. Upon his release, Sutherland claimed that the kidnappersmistook him for Plimpton.

Aftermath

He was the second-longest held captiveafter Terry Anderson. His memories of the experience were publishedin a book co-authored by his wife Jean, At Your Own Risk (ISBN1555912559). He claims to have attempted suicide a number of timesand to have spent a substantial amount of time in solitaryconfinement.

In June 2001, the Sutherland family wona $323 million verdict in a lawsuit against the frozen assets of thegovernment of Iran, because of evidence that Iran had directedterrorists to kidnap Americans in Lebanon. In accordance with Section2002 of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of2000, Pub.L. 106–386 (text) (pdf), Sutherland and his familyreceived $35,041,877.36 (including interest) and the lien for therest of the original settlement is now held by the US Government.

Sutherland died on July 22, 2016 inFort Collins, Colorado, aged 85.