BBC News reporter Allen Johnson released

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2007-07-03 11:17pm

Allen Johnson, the BBC News correspondent who was kidnapped by terrorists in Gaza, was released today.

Vampiress_Miyu · Post by **Vampiress_Miyu** » 2007-07-03 11:23pm

Do we have any news articles to go with this fancy bit of information? -hint hint-

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2007-07-03 11:34pm

BBC News wrote: BBC's Gaza correspondent released
Alan Johnston
Alan Johnston thanked all who had campaigned for his release
BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been released by kidnappers in Gaza after nearly four months in captivity.

He said it was "fantastic" to be free after an "appalling experience". TV footage showed Mr Johnston, 45, leaving a building accompanied by armed men.

He was received by Ismail Haniya, a Hamas leader in Gaza. The group had vowed to spare no effort to free him.

Rallies worldwide had called for Mr Johnston's release. An online petition was signed by some 200,000 people.

The BBC reporter was handed over to officials of the Hamas administration in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement overran Gaza last month, expelling their rivals from the Fatah faction.

I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room
Alan Johnston

Mr Johnston was abducted on 12 March by the Army of Islam, a shadowy militant group dominated by Gaza's powerful Dugmush clan.

The group released three videos, two of which featured footage of the kidnapped correspondent.

It said it would kill its captive if its demands for the release of Muslim prisoners in British custody were not met.

'Dreamt of freedom'

Speaking over the telephone from the house of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, Mr Johnston thanked everyone who had worked towards his release.

"It is the most fantastic thing to be free," he said.

He described his experience of captivity as "appalling" and "occasionally quite terrifying".

"It became quite hard to imagine normal life again," he said.

"I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room."

He said he was looking forward to being re-united with his family in Scotland, expressing sorrow that his "actions" had upset their lives.

Mr Johnston said he stayed aware of efforts to free him by listening to the BBC World Service on the radio.

Vampiress_Miyu · Post by **Vampiress_Miyu** » 2007-07-03 11:44pm

Excellent, thanks phongn! Muchly helpful.

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2007-07-04 03:50am

Ah! A bit of happiness to light up an otherwise rainy day. I'm very glad he came back alive and relatively intact.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2007-07-04 04:22am

Good good news, perhaps there is hope in Gaza after all?

White Haven · Post by **White Haven** » 2007-07-04 10:43am

I'm interested to know whether this was accomplished by concessions from Hamas and others, or from the threat of getting avalanched into Oblivion, or what mix of the two. Very good to hear, of course, but it leaves me curious.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-07-04 12:19pm

The fact he didn't go bonkers is a happy thought as well, although his talking style still somewhat annoys me...

Good news all round, heh.

Sturmfalke · Post by **Sturmfalke** » 2007-07-04 12:34pm

Dartzap wrote:The fact he didn't go bonkers is a happy thought as well, although his talking style still somewhat annoys me...

Good news all round, heh.

What do you find annoying? I am no native speaker, so I probably don't get the nuances of his statements, but they seem pretty normal to me.

Good news that he is free, but I wonder if that release is not some kind of Hamas PR-stunt (in the sense that they knew about his location, but chose this moment to set him free to gat some good PR).

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-07-04 12:36pm

Everyone under the sun knows it's a PR stunt

As for his speaking style, it's...odd. I can't really describe why. It's all perfectly understandable, but it just grates on me.