The 45 year old BBC reporters says his captors are treating him well.- VIDEO HERE
(Maan News)
The BBC reported the news today that their reporter held captive in Gaza by an Al Qaeda-linked group is alive and says he is doing well:
A video has appeared on the internet showing the first pictures of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston since his abduction in Gaza on 12 March.
It is said to have been posted by the Army of Islam, the group that says it is holding the reporter…
In a statement, the Foreign Office said: “We condemn the release of videos like this, which can only add to the distress of Alan Johnston’s family and friends.”
…On the tape, the Army of Islam demand the release of Abu Qatada, a Palestinian-born Islamic cleric who is suspected of close links to al-Qaeda and is currently held by the UK government as a threat to national security.
The BBC’s Alan Johnston is shown here with jailed Palestinian Al Qaeda member Abu Qatada. (Maan News)
Palestinian Maan News added:
The abducted BBC reporter Alan Johnston has said in a video tape distributed by the Army of Islam on Friday that he is being treated well by his abductors.
“They have fed me well, there has been no violence towards me at all and I’m in good health,” said Johnston said, according to a Reuters report.
In the video tape, Johnston appears well, wearing a red sweater and sitting against a black background.
He was kidnapped by gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip on 12 March as he was heading to his home in Gaza City.
In the video, he addressed the world about the Palestinian suffering which he lived through and witnessed in the last three years. He calls for an end to the western sanctions imposed on the Palestinian government.
In April a separate militant group in Gaza, Al Tawhid Al Jihad Brigade, claimed they had executed Johnston.
Johnston had not been seen or heard from since his kidnapping before the tape released today.
Jules Crittenden has questions.
Previously:
Al Qaeda Group Claims It Murdered BBC Reporter Alan Johnston
“Army of Islam” Claims Responsibility for BBC Reporter’s Abduction