BBC reporter freed in Gaza after “appalling” experience
Gaza City (AsiaNews/Agencies) – After three and a half months in captivity, Alan Johnston was released today. Johnston, a BBC journalist, was kidnapped in Gaza last March by an armed group known as the Army of Islam. This was revealed by Palestinian sources and later confirmed by the director of the British broadcaster in Gaza, Sayed Abu Samallah.
The reporter, visibly thinner, was handed over by his captors to two Hamas officials. He has already been transferred to Israel. Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas in exile in Damascus, declared that the outcome shows how the Islamic movement had restored order in the Gaza Strip, after wresting power last month from Fatah. Sources of the Hamas government said Johnston “was freed after an agreement with his kidnappers and is in good health”.
Hamas dignitaries said in confidence that the kidnappers will not face trial. The leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said he now hopes to free even the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, kidnapped last year.
The journalist, the only western correspondent based in Gaza Strip, said it was “fantastic” to be free after an “appalling” experience. Johnston said he had been unable to see the sun for three months, and that he spent his last hours in prison in chains. However he was never tortured.
Kidnapped in Gaza on 12 March, the Army of Islam claimed responsibility for his kidnapping in May on the Internet. The group – led by the powerful Dugmush clan – demanded the release of “all Islamic prisoners” in Great Britain, especially of the integralist imam of Palestinian origin, Abu Qatada. Johnston’s case drew widespread support, with rallies around the world, with an online petition for his release that collected around 200,000 signatures.
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07/07/2006
