Paris: A new video of two French
television journalists kidnapped a year ago by suspected Islamist insurgents east of Kabul has been released to authorities in France, a report said.
"The video has been authenticated. It was shot around
mid-November," journalist and presenter Carole Gaessler said
yesterday on France 3 television.
Foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero confirmed
the date and authenticity of the video, but did not provide
any further details.
Stephane Taponier and Herve Ghesquiere, a reporter and
a cameraman for the state-owned channel, were kidnapped on
December 30 last year in an area rife with anti-government insurgents.
In the video, Taponier talks to his family, while
Ghesquiere talks to his partner, Gaessler said.
French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Sunday
expressed hope that the two reporters would be released as
soon as possible.
"We known that they are alive, relatively healthy,
although it is clear that after a year things are starting to
weigh," she said.
A senior French military official in September
suggested that the two reporters could be rescued by
Christmas, but President Nicolas Sarkozy would not confirm
this.
AFP
First Published: Tuesday, December 21, 2010, 14:15