The Hindu : International : French journalist, Iraqi aide freed

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Monday, Jun 13, 2005

International

International

French journalist, Iraqi aide freed

Veteran reporter ofLiberationheads home after five months of captivity

PARIS: French journalist Florence Aubenas and her Iraqi assistant have been freed after more than five months as hostages in Iraq, the French Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Ms. Aubenas, a veteran reporter for the left-leaning Liberation newspaper, was heading home to France, the Ministry said. It said she was expected to arrive at a Paris-area airport toward the end of the day.

The reporter's Iraqi assistant, Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi, stayed with his family in Iraq. The two had been missing since Jan. 5. They were last seen leaving Ms. Aubenas' hotel in the Iraqi capital.

In a brief statement, the Foreign Ministry did not provide details of their release or indicate who had been holding them.

The first and last public sign that Ms. Aubenas was alive came in a videotape — apparently recorded by her captors — that emerged on March 1. She looked pale and pleaded for help.

Last week, her editor said French authorities were making progress in the slow, painstaking process to free Ms. Aubenas and her guide.

— AP

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