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Video of Kidnapped British Reporter Surfaces NewsMax.com Wires GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A British reporter kidnapped in the Gaza Strip nearly three months ago appeared Friday in a videotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site, saying his captors had treated him well, denouncing Israel, and criticizing British and U.S. Mideast policy. There was no date on the recording - the first sign of life from Alan Johnston since his abduction - and it was not clear why his captors decided to post it. The British Broadcasting Corp. journalist, who has been covering the Palestinian territories for three years, has a reputation for objectivity, and it seemed likely he was reciting what he was told to say. The videotape appeared on the Al-Ekhlaas Web site, frequently used by Islamic militants. It bore the logo of the Army of Islam, the shadowy Palestinian group that had been believed to be holding the 45-year-old reporter, and opened with Arabic chanting and verses from the Quran. The video ended with Johnston about to outline conditions for his release, only to have the tape cut away to an unidentified voice in Arabic demanding freedom for Islamic prisoners, including a radical cleric with ties to Al-Qaida imprisoned in Britain. The demand was accompanied by English subtitles. Johnston looked fit and calm during the three minutes he spoke. "My captors have treated me very well, they've fed me well, there has been no violence towards me at all and I am in good health," he said in his opening remarks - then launched into a litany of complaints about Israel, and British and U.S. Mideast policy. "In three years here in the Palestinian territories I witnessed the huge suffering of the Palestinian people, and my message is that the suffering is continuing and it is unacceptable," he said, blaming Israel. Story Continues Below
He denounced Britain and the U.S. for causing suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, and condemned Britain specifically for "occupying Muslim lands against the will of the people in those places." Johnston also skewered Britain for its role in Israel's creation on land the British once administered, calling Israel "the cause of all the suffering of the Palestinian people." "We the British are completely to blame, along with the Americans, for the situation in Iraq," he added, while "the British are the main force in Aghanistan, causing all the trouble to all the simple Afghans who simply want to live." Johnston was shown seated from the waist up, wearing what looked like a red sweatshirt, and speaking against a dark gray backdrop. He started relaying a message to his family, but was cut off. Subtitles then appeared on the videotape, saying, "The BBC refused to take this message to his family." "We are aware of the reports and we are investigating urgently," said Simon Wilson, the BBC bureau chief in Jerusalem. In a statement, Johnston's family said they were "very pleased" to see their son, but that it was "clearly distressing" to see him in the video. A spokesman for the British Foreign Office spokesman said officials were studying the video, but that "it is far too early to say whether this is a recent tape or to make any further comment." In Scotland on Friday, Britain's incoming prime minister, Gordon Brown, said Johnston's captors "are not serving their cause by detaining him in this unfair and unjust way," and urged them to free the reporter. Shaker Shabat, a Gaza-based analyst, said the tape was a signal that Johnston's release was imminent. "They are showing us evidence that Johnston is alive, and that is to seal the deal," Shabat said. Footage of two Fox News journalists kidnapped last summer was released days before they were freed after two weeks in captivity. But there was no guarantee the same pattern would hold in Johnston's case. The Army of Islam was one of three factions involved in the June 2006 kidnapping of Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who remains in captivity. All three groups are linked to Hamas, the Islamic militant group that is the senior partner in the Palestinians' governing coalition. Last week, an aide to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said Johnston was alive and well, and could soon be set free. Palestinian officials have said they knew where to find Johnston, but have held back on raiding the hideout at Britain's request, for fear of harming him. The Palestinian government has instead tried to negotiate with the captors, while the British government has held talks with Abu Qatada, a cleric in British custody who has been linked to Osama bin Laden, in an effort to secure Johnston's release. On Friday, Haniyeh called on Johnston's captors to "protect him," saying the kidnapping was "an act that doesn't serve Islam and doesn't serve the Palestinian cause." Johnston has been missing far longer than any foreigner kidnapped in Gaza, and his kidnapping has led most news outlets to keep their foreign reporters out of the territory - a development the Palestinian government sees as hurting their people's cause.
© 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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