Canadian reporter Amanda Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan – who have been held captive in Somalia for the past nine months – have smuggled out a message saying they are in poor health and fear they may die in captivity unless their governments to do more to secure their release. Lindhout believes she will die unless the Canadian government and her family pay a ransom of $1 million.
Their pleas were made to the French news agency AFP through an intermediary who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the kidnappers.
They were abducted in August 2008 while on a freelance assignment. Their kidnapping is one of the longest that has occurred in Somalia, one of the most dangerous countries for journalists and aid workers to work. A Somali journalist and two drivers who were captured with Lindhout and Brennan were released on January 16.
Lindhout’s friends and colleagues are trying to keep her case in the public eye through Facebook and YouTube videos (for example, here).
Above: Nigel Brennan