The family of the aid worker Margaret Hassan, who was murdered in Iraq, has said that the British government's refusal to speak to her kidnappers cost Margaret her life.
The Dublin-born Care International worker was taken hostage in October 2004 and killed just under a month later, but her body has never been found.
In a statement today, her family said that during her captivity four calls were made to her Iraqi husband, Tahseen, in Baghdad from the kidnappers, demanding to speak to a member of the British Embassy.
However, he had been told by British diplomats that they would not speak to the hostage-takers.
The statement was in the name of Deidre, Geraldine, Kathryn and Michael Fitzsimons.
Three men arrested by American troops last year and held in connection with Margaret Hassan's murder are due to go on trial in Baghdad tomorrow.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, has appointed a lawyer in Baghdad to represent the Irish Government at the trial.
Margaret Hassan's family is also calling on the British government to interview the detainees in an effort to recover her remains so that she can be laid to rest.
