IFJ Calls for Immediate Release of French Journalist Kidnapped in Somalia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for the immediate release of a French journalist kidnapped on Sunday morning by unknown men in Puntland in northern Somalia.

“This abduction underscores the threats facing journalists in Somalia, which have reached an intolerable level,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa office. “We are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of our colleague and urge authorities to ensure his release without any violence or bloodshed.”

The kidnapped journalist, Gwenlaoen Le Gouil, is a journalist and cameraman working with a small production company. His colleague Jean Laurent told AFP that Le Gouil was working on a report for ARTE, a French and German Television station. He traveled to Somalia to cover the trafficking of illegal immigrants who flee to Yemen and have reportedly been ill-treated and sometimes killed by their smugglers.

The suspected kidnappers are said to have demanded for a ransom of 70,000 dollars.

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Le Gouil arrived in the capital of Puntland, Bossasso, on Saturday, from Mogadishu and was kidnapped the following day by five armed men who ordered his driver and translator to leave the journalist with them.

The last attack on a foreign journalist in Somalia was in June 2006 when Swedish cameraman Martin Adler was shot dead during a demonstration organised by the Islamic Courts Union in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

So far this year, eight local journalists and other media workers have been killed in Somalia.

For more information contact the IFJ at + 221 33 842 01 43
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide

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