Reacting to reports that New York Times reporter David Rohde and his assistant Tahir Ludin have escaped Taliban captors who held them for more than seven months, we issued the following statement:
“We are thrilled that David and Tahir are finally free,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Like many media organizations, we were asked by the Times not to publicize this abduction. We agreed because we believed that in this case it was in best interests of the hostages. We send our best wishes to David and Tahir, along with their families who have also endured this ordeal.”