RSF withdraws press release about Jumpei Yasuda

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a press release on 22 December about Jumpei Yasuda, a Japanese journalist held hostage in Syria since July. The release was not drafted according to normal procedure and was not sufficiently verified. It has therefore been withdrawn pending fuller information. We ask Yasuda’s family and friends, and the families of other hostages in Syria, to accept our apologies.