CPJ urges Canada , Australia to step up efforts to free Somalia captives
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Monday July 05, 2010 - 02:20:42 in English News by Super Admin
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New york 12 June 2009
The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Canadian and
Australian governments to work for the immediate release of two freelance
journalists who have been held captive in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since
August.
On Wednesday, a woman claiming to be captive journalist Amanda
Lindhout called the Canadian broadcaster CTV, saying she fears for her life and
pleading for the government to assist her. Lindhout and Australian photographer
Nigel Brennan were abducted along the Afgoye-Mogadishu road, just outside the
capital.
“I have been held hostage by gunmen in Somalia for nearly 10
months. I am in a desperate situation,” the woman told CTV. “The Canadian
government must have some duty to help its citizens in such a crisis.”
On
May 25, Agence France-Presse reported that its correspondent in Mogadishu had
received a call from two people who represented themselves as the captive
journalists. The callers said they were in poor health and urged their
respective governments to help free them, AFP reported.
“It must be
agonizing for the family and friends of Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan to
hear these reports about their poor health and the harsh conditions of their
confinement in a city racked by conflict,” CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney
said. “We understand that the Canadian and Australian authorities are working to
help these journalists but it has been nearly 10 months since they were
kidnapped. Both countries must step up efforts to secure their safe and swift
release.”
Daniel Barbarie, a spokesman for the Canadian Department of
Foreign Affairs, told CPJ that his government was aware of the CTV report. He
said officials “continue to pursue all appropriate channels to seek further
information about Ms. Lindhout's welfare, and to assist the family in securing
her safe release as well as that of Mr. Brennan.”
Somali journalist
Abdifatah Elmi—who was acting as a fixer for Lindhout and Brennan—was freed on
January 15 after being held captive for five months. Somalia is one of the most
dangerous countries in the world for the press; five journalists have been
killed in 2009 alone.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit
organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more
information, visit www.cpj.org.
CPJ urges Canada , Australia to step up efforts to free Somalia captives
New york 12 June 2009