Kidnapped Palestinian journalist is freed

18.05.2007 - 19h00 GMT Reporters Without Borders voiced relief on learning that Palestinian journalist Abdelsalam Mussa Abu Askar was freed several hours after being kidnapped today in the Gaza Strip The press freedom organisation was told that the Abu Dhabi TV bureau chief was released thanks to the invention of Gen. Burhane Mohammed, the head of the Egyptian security delegation based in Gaza. 18.05.2007 - 17h30 GMT Mounting alarm as a second journalist is kidnapped in Gaza Abdelsalam Mussa Abu Askar, a Palestinian journalist who is Abu Dhabi TV's bureau chief in Gaza, was kidnapped as he was returning home today in Gaza City. His colleagues said members of the Hamas-affiliated Executive Force were involved in his abduction. “This latest abduction, 68 days after BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was kidnapped, confirms that the Gaza Strip is one of the world's most dangerous places for the media,” the press freedom organisation said. “We are all the more concerned as this is the first time a Palestinian journalist has been kidnapped in the Palestinian Territories,” Reporters Without Borders added. “What guarantees of security are possible if Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh's party, Hamas, allows such activity. We appeal to him to intervene to get Askar released quickly.” Aged 43, Asker was abducted as he was driving to his home in Al-Nassar, in the northwest section of Gaza City. The leadership of the Hamas Executive Force denied any involvement in his abduction. The resumption of fighting between rival Palestinian groups has made it very difficult for journalists to work in the Gaza Strip. Most residents are staying indoors and, for the most part, TV journalists are only able to film from the windows of their bureaux. Yesterday, about 40 journalists were trapped for several hours on the 9th floor of a building housing many news media as it was raked with gunfire. This is the list of journalists who have been taken hostage in the Gaza Strip since 2005: - Ramon Lobo and Carmen Secanella, held for less than two hours. - Mohammed Ouathi, held for nine days. - Lorenzo Cremonesi, held for a day. - Dion Nissenbaum and Adam Pletts, held for several hours. - Caroline Laurent, Alfred Yaghobzadeh and Yong Tae-young, held for a day. - Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig, held for 14 days. - Emilio Morenatti, held for several hours. - Jaime Razuri, held for seven days. - Alan Johnston, still held. - Abdelsalam Mussa Abu Askar, still held.