Deep concern about deadline set by Jill Carroll's abductors

Reporters Without Borders voiced deep concern today after the pan-Arab TV station Al Jazeera yesterday broadcast a video of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll in captivity and the station reported that her abductors have threatened to kill her if all the female detainees in Iraq are not freed within 72 hours. “We appeal to the press of the entire world, especially in the Arab countries, to speak out in support of Carroll,” the press freedom organisation said. “The media must not limit themselves to reporting the news, they must themselves call for Carroll's release. Muslim organisations in the United States must also intervene. Their help is valuable. Real solidarity with Carroll must be urgently demonstrated. People must act as quickly as possible and with the same energy as with previous hostages. Carroll's US nationality must not be allowed to hold back the show of support.” Reporters Without Borders added: “We remind Carroll's kidnappers that she is a journalist who has just done her job, which is to describe the conditions in which Iraqis are living. She is not responsible for the US government's decisions.” The 20-second video screened yesterday by Al Jazeera showed Carroll apparently talking to the camera but it had no sound. Only her face, neck and shoulders could be seen. She was wearing a light grey sweat-shirt. A source at the Qatar-based TV station said the group holding her, which threatened to kill her within 72 hours, called itself the “Vengeance Brigade.” Appeals for her release were made by her family and by the Christian Science Monitor and the Jordan Times, two of the newspapers for which she writes. Carroll is a freelance reporter who has been writing for US, Italian and Jordanian media. Carroll was kidnapped by gunmen at about 10 a.m. on 7 January in the west Baghdad neighbourhood of Adel, where she had expected to meet with a Sunni politician, Adnan al-Doulaimi. The body of her interpreter, Allan Enwiyah, was found at the scene of the abduction. He had been shot dead. A total of 55 journalists and 22 media assistants have been killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003. Of the 77 victims, 56 (73 per cent) were Iraqi and four (5 per cent) were American. Carroll is the 35th media worker to be kidnapped since the start of the war. Five of the kidnap victims (four Iraqis and Enzo Baldoni of Italy) were killed by their abductors. The others were all released safe and sound. Twenty-three of these kidnappings have taken place in or near Baghdad. Jill Carroll is the seventh woman journalist to be kidnapped in Iraq. Despite its name, the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor is not a religious newspaper. It is well known for the quality and thoroughness of both its international and domestic coverage.