From the ABC's freshly relaunched news website:
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/17/1953639.htm?section=justin
All I can say is that I hope it's true - I think it's quite terrible when journalists get caught up in conflicts, especially given that Johnston was the only reporter permanently based in Gaza to cover the conflict. Of course, what was exceptional about this particular case was the unusual length of time for which he was held
Of course, it's worth mentioning that while Alan Johnston has been held hostage, Aljazeera cameraman Sami Al Hajj remains in US custody at Guantanamo Bay since 2001, ostensibly because AJ is a 'front for Al-Qaeda', and numerous other reporters have lost their lives in doing their jobs.
| Quote: |
| BBC reporter set for freedom: Hamas
A Hamas official says kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston will be released within hours, after being held in Gaza for more than three months. The statement by the representative of the Palestinian Islamist group in Iran, Abu Osameh al-Mo'ti, has come after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip this week in a surge of factional fighting with rival group Fatah. A Hamas official in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, has been more cautious about the possibility of Mr Johnston being freed, saying intensive efforts are being made for his release but it cannot be predicted in terms of hours. In Tehran, Mr Mo'ti said Hamas was in negotiations with those holding Mr Johnston but did not specify how he knew the British journalist would be freed. He suggested Hamas knew both who the abductors were and where Mr Johnston was being held, adding the 45-year-old British journalist was in good health. "We are negotiating to solve the issue peacefully," he said. "We asked them to release him without any conditions." Mr Johnston, the only western correspondent based full-time in Gaza, was seized on March 12. His abductors, a little-known group called the Army of Islam, issued a video of him on June 1 in which he said he was being treated well, although it was not known when the tape was made. Mr Abu Zuhri said Hamas was in an advanced stage of negotiations over Mr Johnston's release. "We can confirm that there are intensive efforts to end the crisis of the abduction of Alan Johnston," he said. "There are encouraging indicators that he will be released in the near future but we cannot determine this in terms of hours." -Reuters |
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/17/1953639.htm?section=justin
All I can say is that I hope it's true - I think it's quite terrible when journalists get caught up in conflicts, especially given that Johnston was the only reporter permanently based in Gaza to cover the conflict. Of course, what was exceptional about this particular case was the unusual length of time for which he was held
Of course, it's worth mentioning that while Alan Johnston has been held hostage, Aljazeera cameraman Sami Al Hajj remains in US custody at Guantanamo Bay since 2001, ostensibly because AJ is a 'front for Al-Qaeda', and numerous other reporters have lost their lives in doing their jobs.
