Libya
Second journalist killed, others held in LibyaPosted Mar 23 2011
The International Press Institute reported that journalist Mohammed Al-Nabbous was killed by snipers in the eastern city of Benghazi, Libya on March 19. Al-Nabbous was the founder of Free Libya, or Libya Al-Hurra, an online news channel. He was shot during the violence as Gaddafi’s forces attacked rebels in Benghazi.
Al-Jazeera also announced on March 19 that four of its reporters were detained in Tripoli; Agence-France Presse said that two of its reporters and a photographer have been missing since March 19; and other news providers have said that their correspondents are missing or detained, CPJ reported.
The four New York Times journalists were freed on March 21, six days after they were captured in the eastern city of Ajdabiya, Libya. Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario. They “were released into the custody of Turkish diplomats and crossed safely into Tunisia in the late afternoon, from where they provided a harrowing account of their captivity,” The New York Times reported.
The Times said that the four were driving away from a dangerous battle near Ajdabiya when they encountered a checkpoint of Gaddafi forces. They were pulled from the car as rebels fired on the checkpoint. They were ordered to empty their pockets and lie on the ground. According to the Times story, Shadid said: “I heard in Arabic, ‘Shoot them.’ And we all thought it was over.” Hicks continued, “ One of the others said: ‘No, they’re American. We can’t shoot them.’”
The four journalists were subjected to beating, groping and harassment for the next 48 hours. They were then moved, put on a plane, handed over to Libyan defense officials in Tripoli and transferred to a safe house where they were treated well, they told the Times. They’re release was scheduled for March 20, but was postponed due to bombing.
Meanwhile, The Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad was released on March 16, the paper reported. Abdul-Ahad disappeared with Brazilian correspondent Andrei Netto on March 2. Netto was freed a week later, but Libyan authorities did not release Abdul-Ahad with him.