Guardian correspondent missing in Libya

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad was last heard from on outskirts of Zawiya

Ian Black, Middle East editor | Thursday March 10 2011

Urgent efforts are under way to establish the whereabouts of the Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, who has been reporting from western Libya for the past two weeks.

Abdul-Ahad entered the country from Tunisia and was last in touch with the paper through a third party on Sunday, when he was on the outskirts of Zawiya, a town west of the capital, Tripoli, which has seen fierce fighting in the past few days.

The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan government officials in Tripoli and London and asked them to urgently give all assistance in the search for Abdul-Ahad and to establish if he is in the custody of the authorities.

Abdul-Ahad, who is an Iraqi national, is a highly respected staff correspondent who has written for the Guardian since 2004. He has spent long periods in Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan, reporting on the stories of ordinary people and their suffering in times of conflict.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/10/guardian-correspondent-missing-libya

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Ghaith Abdul-Ahad has been reporting from western Libya for the
past two weeks. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

[pinboy3niner]

1. UPDATES from The Guardian's News Blog:

6.58pm GMT:

Some good news regarding the Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad – Libyan government officials have confirmed that he is in custody:

The foreign ministry in the capital Tripoli said that Libyan authorities were holding Abdul-Ahad along with a Brazilian journalist, Andrei Netto. The two are believed to have been detained close to the coastal town of Sabratha on Monday.

Abdul-Ahad entered Libya from Tunisia and was last in touch with the paper through a third party on Sunday. He was then on the outskirts of Zawiya, a strategic town west of Tripoli which has seen fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the past few days.

The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan officials in Tripoli and London and asked them urgently to give all assistance in the search for Abdul-Ahad and to guarantee his safety and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, Andrei Netto has been released and is at the Brazilian ambassador's residence in Tripoli. Netto's newspaper, Estado de Sao Paulo, reports that he is in good health and will leave Libya tomorrow.



9.30pm GMT:

Brazilian journalist Andrei Netto – arrested alongside the Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad by pro-Gaddafi forces – recounts his experience in prison:

Netto says he was not physically assaulted in prison but suffered psychological isolation. "I was alone without seeing the sunlight. I felt the wind blowing in my face for the first time in eight days," said the journalist after he was released.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/10/libya-uprising-gaddafi-live