Susanne] Osthoff: Getting a chilly reception since her release from captors

[Archaeologist Susanne] Osthoff's reception among fellow Germans since her release on December 19 has been chilly. Although Berlin has been mum on the issue of a ransom, Osthoff acknowledged that there was a payment to her kidnappers; news reports estimate it to be around $5 million.""This was all very different from the praise Osthoff has received from the archaeological community. She has been characterized as an intrepid and tireless caretaker of a ravaged cultural landscape, one of the few foreign archaeologists who chose to remain in Iraq to raise awareness of the devastation wrought by the war ... In early January, German newspapers Die Welt and Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing sources in 'well-informed circles,' reported that Osthoff on occasion supplied information to the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND) regarding the situation in Iraq. The cooperation was allegedly halted by the BND in May 2005 after Osthoff received a threat from Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi. The reports estimated the archaeologist to have received no more than $4,000 from the BND.

Osthoff is currently believed to be in Jordan. In interviews to the German press she denied giving any intelligence to the BND, but acknowledged contact and overnight stays with a BND agent who helped her 'genuinely much' and who provided toys for her daughter. According to Osthoff, the agent's superior attempted to recruit her for intelligence gathering, but she rebuffed his offer."