Alan Johnston
Photo: AFP
BBC checks tape from reporter's kidnappers
Al-Jazeera in Gaza receives tape with demands for Alan Johnston's release
The Arab television network Al-Jazeera has received a tape on Wednesday supposedly sent from the kidnappers of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, who is held in Gaza.
The BBC said that they are checking the contents of the tape but revealed no more details.
The tape, made by an organization called Jaish al-Islam (the Army of Islam) and delivered to the network's offices in Gaza, includes several demands and presents pictures including what looks like Johnston's press card.
Increased Concerns
Associated Press
(VIDEO) BBC's Middle East Bureau Editor Simon Wilson holds news conference week following Alan Johnston's abduction in Gaza. 'As time passes, we are growing increasingly concerned about Alan's safety,' Wilson says
Johnston was kidnapped two months ago when a group of armed militants seized him at gunpoint on his way home in Gaza.
Until Wednesday, the kidnappers had not made their demands public.
About one month ago, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, appealed to the kidnappers to release Johnston. "I call upon the authorities to do anything in their power to bring about his release as soon as possible."
"When a journalist is kidnapped, society as a whole is taken hostage… We must put an end to such behavioral patterns that pose a threat to the press and to freedom of speech. Too many kidnappings have occurred in Iraq lately, as in Gaza. Not all of them have ended in blood shed, but these are acts of intolerance, and the perpetrators must be held accountable."
Johnston's colleagues have also protested his prolonged captivity and held a demonstration a month ago outside the offices of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. They also implemented a media boycott and refused to cover Abbas' meeting with American House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Journalists in Gaza also protested against the Palestinian government's impotence in the matter and went on a three-day protest strike.
