OCTOBER 12, 2005
Posted October 18, 2005
Dion Nissenbaum, Knight Ridder
Adam Pletts, Knight Ridder
ABDUCTED
Nissenbaum, a U.S. reporter for the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, and Pletts, a British freelance photographer working for the news organization, were held for several hours and released unharmed in the Gaza Strip. The abductions were part of an alarming spate of kidnappings of foreign journalists in Gaza, CPJ research shows.
“A car followed our vehicle for three or four minutes and then stopped us. Six gunmen pointed their weapons and said ‘We want the foreigners,’ ” Ziad Abu Mustafa, a Palestinian interpreter who was with the journalists, told Reuters. He said the captors ordered him to stay behind as they drove off with the two journalists, heading toward the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
Palestinian security officials said the men were kidnapped by renegade members of the ruling Fatah party, CPJ sources said. They said Fatah officials and Palestinian security officers negotiated their release.<