Rally in London in support of BBC correspondent as he begins second month in captivity in Gaza

Reporters Without Borders today organised a rally in central London in support of kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, at which a large photo of Johnston was unveiled in Trafalgar Square in the presence of his parents, Graham and Margaret Johnston. The reporter was abducted in the Gaza Strip on 12 March. “Exactly a month has gone by without any news of Johnston,” the press freedom organisation said. “It is unacceptable that a journalist should be used as a bargaining chip in an abduction, which in this case appears to have been carried out for non-political reasons. What are the authorities waiting for to obtain his release? We call on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh to redouble their efforts.” A large photo of the British journalist was hung in Trafalgar Square today as he began his second month in captivity. The BBC also held a news conference at the headquarters of the Foreign Press Association. His parents and representatives of the Muslim community in Britain gathered to jointly demand his release. The Union of Palestinian Journalists also organised a rally in Gaza City today to press demands for the government to make a bigger effort to obtain Johnston's release. The BBC correspondent in the Palestinian Territories since 2004, Johnston was abducted as he was driving home from his Gaza City office. He is the 14th victim in a series of kidnappings of foreign journalists of different nationalities since 2005. However, he has been held much longer than the others and this raises serious questions about the safety of journalists in the Gaza Strip, where armed groups and powerful families continue to operate freely outside the law.