Journalists held by Taliban back home
Source: Agencies |
July 1, 2011, Friday
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TWO journalists held hostage by the Taliban for 18 months in Afghanistan came home to France yesterday to an emotional welcome and nationwide relief.
Television reporter Herve Ghesquiere, 47, tears of joy in his eyes, described being confined indoors "23 and three-quarters hours a day" and repeatedly having his hopes raised of an imminent release - and then dashed.
Cameraman Stephane Taponier, 46, at his side, broke into a grin as he said: "We're doing really, really, really well."
Both looked quite pale but otherwise healthy, and were visibly moved by the huge crowd of journalists gathered at a military airbase outside Paris for the long-awaited homecoming.
Their plight was one of France's longest-ever hostage ordeals, and had become a national cause. President Nicolas Sarkozy, First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and France's defense and foreign ministers met the two men as they descended from a plane from Kabul.
The two journalists and three Afghan associates were kidnapped in December 2009 while working for the France-3 television station on a story about road reconstruction east of Kabul. They had been embedded with French troops in Afghanistan, but decided to take off to report on their own and were captured.
They were freed on Wednesday along with their Afghan translator, Reza Din. The two others were freed earlier. French officials insisted that no ransom was paid for the men's freedom, though the circumstances of the release remained unclear.
The journalists insisted yesterday that they had not been beaten or mistreated by their Taliban captors, just suffered "very, very difficult" living conditions. They said they were separated after the first three months and spent the rest of the time isolated and confined.
"We represented something important for" the Taliban, Taponier said, which he said gave him hope that they would eventually be freed.
Television reporter Herve Ghesquiere, 47, tears of joy in his eyes, described being confined indoors "23 and three-quarters hours a day" and repeatedly having his hopes raised of an imminent release - and then dashed.
Cameraman Stephane Taponier, 46, at his side, broke into a grin as he said: "We're doing really, really, really well."
Both looked quite pale but otherwise healthy, and were visibly moved by the huge crowd of journalists gathered at a military airbase outside Paris for the long-awaited homecoming.
Their plight was one of France's longest-ever hostage ordeals, and had become a national cause. President Nicolas Sarkozy, First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and France's defense and foreign ministers met the two men as they descended from a plane from Kabul.
The two journalists and three Afghan associates were kidnapped in December 2009 while working for the France-3 television station on a story about road reconstruction east of Kabul. They had been embedded with French troops in Afghanistan, but decided to take off to report on their own and were captured.
They were freed on Wednesday along with their Afghan translator, Reza Din. The two others were freed earlier. French officials insisted that no ransom was paid for the men's freedom, though the circumstances of the release remained unclear.
The journalists insisted yesterday that they had not been beaten or mistreated by their Taliban captors, just suffered "very, very difficult" living conditions. They said they were separated after the first three months and spent the rest of the time isolated and confined.
"We represented something important for" the Taliban, Taponier said, which he said gave him hope that they would eventually be freed.
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