The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the National Union of Journalists of Somalia (NUSOJ) in welcoming reports of the release of Australian photo-journalist Nigel Brennan and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout in Somalia after 15 months as hostages.
Brennan and Lindhout were reportedly released on November 25. Both are understood to be safe, and are currently in Mogadishu awaiting repatriation.
The pair were abducted on August 23, 2008 while visiting a refugee camp on the outskirts of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Their driver and interpreter were released shortly after the abduction.
The NUSOJ, an IFJ affiliate, said Brennan and Lindhout were handed over to four members of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Parliament at a security checkpoint before being taken to a safe location.
The release was welcomed by the NUSOJ, Australia’s Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and Canada’s Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
“We welcome the happy end to the tragedy of the kidnapping of Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan,” NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman said.
“The news of the release of Brennan and Lindhout is a welcome reprieve amid a deteriorating safety situation for foreign and local journalists and media workers in Somalia,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.
“However, we also know that they will face a long process of recovery from their ordeal.”
Somalia is among the most dangerous countries for practising journalists, with six media workers killed so far this year.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide