Blair urges Johnston release
It is unclear when the video of Alan Johnston was made
Also In The News
|
Claudio Ranieri has resigned from his role as manager of Italian club Parma in a move apparently confirming speculation that he will take up the reins at  |
Friday, 01, Jun 2007 09:40
Tony Blair has urged the captors of BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston to free the journalist immediately.
The prime minister was speaking after a video purportedly showing the first images of Mr Johnston since he was kidnapped appeared on the internet.
In the video, apparently posted by the Army of Islam, a group which has previously claimed to be holding the reporter, Mr Johnston says he is in "good health" and is being treated well by his captors.
However it is not clear when the video, which appeared on the al-Ekhlaas website, was made.
Mr Johnston, 45, was kidnapped in Gaza City as he made his way home from work on March 12th.
Speaking from South Africa Mr Blair said he "felt deeply" for the journalist and his family, insisting the government was doing "everything we can" to secure his immediate release.
"I urge those who are holding him to release him. He is a journalist doing his work out there; he is someone who is known for his independence and integrity," he said.
"We will carry on doing everything we can and hope we can secure his release for him and his family."
The reporter, who appears in the footage wearing a red sweatshirt, says in the recording: "First of all, my captors have treated me very well.
"They have fed me very well; there has been no violence towards me."
In subsequent remarks, which give the impression that the journalist may have been coerced by his captors into making them, Mr Johnston refers to the "huge suffering" of the Palestinian people and calls for an end to western sanctions imposed against their government.
He adds that their "continuing" plight is "unacceptable" and specifically mentions the holding of Palestinian prisoners and the deteriorating economic situation in Gaza.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said government officials were looking "very carefully" into reports of the video, but declined to comment further.
The BBC meanwhile echoed the government's comments.
"We have been working very closely with Alan's family for the past 81 days," a spokesperson explained. "This is a highly distressing time for them and for his friends and his colleagues. We repeat our call for his immediate release."
And a statement from Mr Johnston's family issued through the broadcaster said: "We are very pleased to see Alan and to hear him say that he is not being ill-treated - although it is clearly distressing for us to see him in these circumstances.
"We're being kept fully informed and involved by the BBC, as we have been since the day Alan was abducted. We're grateful to everyone who's been supporting us and we hope that he'll be released very soon."
The emergence of the recording comes after a tape purporting to be from the Army of Islam was delivered to the Gaza offices of Arabic television channel al-Jazeera earlier this month.
Reports at the time said it made a number of demands and included an apparent image of Mr Johnston's BBC identity card.
Just this week a Palestinian government official and member of Hamas claimed that Mr Johnston, the only foreign correspondent based in Gaza full-time, was alive and well.
Ghazi Hamad, a friend of the journalist, made the claim at the Hay literary festival in Wales.