Two Knight Ridder journalists kidnapped for several hours in Gaza

Reporters Without Borders today condemned the kidnapping of two journalists working for the US news syndication service Knight Ridder on 12 October in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, and reiterated its appeal to the Palestinian authorities to ensure the safety of news media employees working there. US reporter Dion Nissenbaum and British photographer Adam Pletts were released after being held for several hours by a group of gunmen. “We urge the Palestinian authorities to react quickly in order to clarify the circumstances of this abduction,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We have alerted the president of the Palestinian Authority several times about the deteriorating security situation and the climate of violence prevailing there. It is now essential that effective measures are taken to guarantee the lives and safety of journalists on the ground.” According to the two Knight Ridder journalists' Palestinian interpreter, Ziad Abu Mustafa, their vehicle was followed for several minutes by gunmen in a car who finally forced them to stop. Six gunmen got out and said they wanted the “foreigners.” The two journalists were released a few hours later and are now being protected by the Palestinian security services. Mohammed Ouathi, a soundman with the French TV station France 3, was kidnapped in Gaza on 15 August and was freed 10 days later. Lorenzo Cremonesi, an Italian journalist with the Corriere della Sera daily newspaper, was kidnapped on 10 September and was released after a few hours. The motives for these abductions have still not been explained.