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Hostage for 100 days
158/ Barry White
June 20 marked the passing of 100 days since BBC reporter Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza...
DATELINE: 30/7/07At 2.15pm on 20 June Alan Johnston's parents released 100 balloons from their home village in Scotland. At the same time, Alan's colleagues across the BBC held vigils to show their support for him, his friends and his family. The vigils also sought to raise awareness about 14 journalists who have been kidnapped in Iraq. Although the western world has focussed on Alan, who was abducted by armed gunmen in Gaza City on 12 March, a number of mostly Iraqi journalists and media assistants have also been kidnapped since September 2005.
Their plight has received little publicity.
On the same day the NUJ delivered letters to the new Palestinian prime minister and the British foreign secretary urging them to intensify their efforts to secure Alan's release. The NUJ also thanked the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate for their support and help in keeping Alan's case high on the political agenda.
On 31 May confirmation that Alan was still alive came when his captors released a two-minute video of him. The video appeared during the congress of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) being held in Moscow. A transcript of the video can be found on the BBC web site.
Alan is being held by a little-known group, Jasih al-Islam (the Army of Islam) who are now locked in negotiations with Hamas for his return. It has been reported that the group has demanded the release of Muslim prisoners held by the Israelis. Most Palestinian officials believe Alan was seized not because of some radical agenda, but to exert leverage on the then Hamas-led government.
Nevertheless, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro published on 16 June, Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader and recently sacked prime minister, tried to sound confident about securing Alan's release. "There will be one sole legitimate force. We will install law and order in Gaza. Thus it will be easier to obtain the release of the British journalist Alan Johnston," he said.
The IFJ's newly elected president Jim Boumelha has called for fresh action by Hamas leaders to free the kidnapped BBC journalist, a fellow member of the National Union of Journalists of Great Britain and Ireland. He said: "It's time for those who have influence in Gaza to make their presence felt and end the three-month ordeal of Alan Johnston."
Last modified: Monday, July 30, 2007
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Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
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MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
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Media independence during Iraq war questioned
Journalists' Coverage of Middle East Shallow and Distorted
NUJ welcomes release of kidnapped photographer
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'Bomb Al-jazeera', Blunkett said
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Media workers against the war - meeting
Rumsfeld's assault on free speech
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