Shiraaz Mohamed was held captive for three years (AFP)
Fri 03 January 2020:
A South African photojournalist kidnapped in Syria by Islamic State three years ago returned home on Thursday with the help of Turkey’s intelligence agency, a security source in Ankara said.
Shiraaz Mohamed was captured in January 2017 after travelling to document the suffering of Syrians under war, according to South African charity Gift of the Givers.
That took place on Thursday, the Turkish intelligence source told Reuters, without giving more details.
There was no immediate confirmation from South Africa’s foreign ministry, Mohamed’s family or the Turkish government.
The photo journalist was captured in January 2017 near a hospital run by Gift of the Givers, which is a South African charity.
In an email he wrote to a close friend and fellow journalist days before his abduction, Mr Mohamed spoke of his hopes for the near future.
“This is a personal project for me… I feel that it is the least that I can do for the Syrians.”
South Africa’s foreign affairs ministry told the AFP news agency that it had been working to release Mr Mohamed “from day one”.
“That he is finally home is something we are really really happy about,” spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele added.
A recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found Syria to be the deadliest country for journalists to work in. Seven were murdered in 2019 alone, the CPJ said.
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