hostage

Hostage Brit pleads for release in new video

Julien — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:20:50 +0100

After being captured by 40 gunmen at the Iraqi Finance Ministry in Baghdad last May 29, one of five British workers has been shown alive in a video appeal to the UK. The man, who identifies himself as Peter Moore, who was working in Baghdad for the Canadian security firm GardaWorld, has not been seen since his capture. The people detaining him are thought to be a splinter group of the Mehdi Army, which the US believes is Iran-controlled. They are demanding the release of nine Islamic Shia Resistance members in exchange for the five Brits, but British troops have said that they no longer hold any prisoners. The UK foreign office simply condemned the airing of the video and called for the release of the hostages.

Statement from the father of one of the FARC hostages

Julien — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:58:15 +0100

Will they stay or will they go? While everyone eagerly awaits the liberation of Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel and the former lawmaker Consuelo González Pérdomo, our Observers report on the atmosphere in Colombia. The father of hostage Ismael Márquez hopes that the release of some of the prisoners will speed up the process for his son, who’s been held captive since 1999. Meanwhile, Ingrid Betancourt's stepson reminds us that as the FARC’s most high-profile hostage, she will be the last to leave.

Finally, proof of life

Julien — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:50:00 +0100

By Team Observers

The Colombian government has just issued the first images of the French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt since 2003. For her distraught family, the images are proof that Betancourt, who was captured by FARC rebels in Feb. 2003, is still alive. The Colombian government said the video was taken from three FARC guerillas captured by the army. For more information go to France 24.