England
BBC journalist missing from Gaza since March 12Posted Jun 20 2007
BBC journalist Alan Johnston, 44, has been missing since March 12, when he was abducted at gunpoint by four masked men while on his way home from work in Gaza. Johnston had been covering the Palestinian Territories for the BBC for three years and was thought to be the last international correspondent still working in Gaza. No group has claimed responsibility and no demands have been made public, but President Mahmud Abbas, Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh and leaders of leading Palestinian political movements have all been critical of the kidnapping. Twenty Palestinian journalists rallied outside the parliament on March 17, and many participated in a 24-hour strike held March 20 to demand Johnston's release. Reporters Without Borders noted that a total of 14 foreign journalists have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip since August 2005. Most of them were freed quickly and left unharmed. A Reporters Without Borders fact-finding visit to the Palestinian Territories in December 2006 also identified the reasons for these kidnappings; in most cases the hostages were used as bargaining chips to obtain work or the release of friends held in Palestinian prisons.