Fears for BBC Gaza correspondent

[muriel_volestrangler]

The corporation said it had been unable to contact Alan Johnston, but did not comment on Palestinian reports that he had been kidnapped.

Johnston's car was found abandoned in Gaza City shortly after he left his office to drive home.
...
Details of what happened are sketchy. Palestinian police said four gunmen were seen in the vicinity of where Johnston's car was found.
...
Palestinian security forces have set up checkpoints around Gaza and are searching for the correspondent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6442663.stm

[oberliner]

1. BBC makes appeal for Gaza reporter

The BBC has made an appeal for any information on the whereabouts of their Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston since his disappearance earlier in the week.

Simon Wilson, the BBC Middle East bureau chief, thanked on Thursday, all those involved in the search for Johnston including Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.

Palestinian security forces say that Johnston, 44, was kidnapped from his car on Monday by masked gunmen while driving home from his Gaza office, the latest in a spate of abductions of foreigners in Gaza. The BBC says it cannot independently verify these reports.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DD8A91C3-9316-4384-BC6C-2338A5158A7F.htm

[Englander]

2. BBC holds vigil for Johnston

More than 600 BBC journalists led by the director general, Mark Thompson, joined vigils for kidnapped Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston across London this afternoon.

Some 500 staff left their desks at Television Centre while 100 World Service members demonstrated their support at Bush House.

Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, news presenter George Alagiah and the deputy director general, Mark Byford, were among those who joined the vigil.

Large posters of Johnston, who was kidnapped in Gaza City last week, flanked Mr Thompson as he spoke of the reporter's professionalism.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2037632,00.html

[oberliner]

3. Hunt continues for BBC reporter

Palestinian journalists in Gaza have held a one-day strike in support of Mr Johnston and called for his release.

The BBC has said it is increasingly concerned about his safety.

On Tuesday the British foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said she had raised the issue with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

She said the Foreign Office in London was using every opportunity and channel to secure his release.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6474383.stm

[Scurrilous]

4. Report: BBC reporter may have staged kidnapping

London-based newspaper reports Palestinian sources looking into possibility that kidnapped BBC reporter staged own capture to avoid being fired; BBC refuses to comment on report

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3385970,00.html

<snip>

"Palestinian security forces are looking into the possibility that BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston staged his own kidnapping, according to a report by the London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat on Monday.

Palestinian sources reported that Johnston received notice of his dismissal from the BBC, and subsequently fabricated the kidnapping in order not to lose his job. The BBC refused to comment on the report.

The report also said that Johnston was seen waiting for one of his captors for about 15 minutes on the day of the kidnapping, before accompanying him to an undisclosed location.

Johnston, a resident of Scotland, has been the BBC’s Gaza correspondent for the past 3 years, and was kidnapped on 12 March by four gunmen in the city. According to initial reports, he managed to drop his card on the sidewalk when abducted, which helped security forces identify him."