The Japanese government yesterday confirmed that a journalist kidnapped in Syria more than three years ago has been freed and is in Turkey.
“We have confirmed the safety of Jumpei Yasuda, who had been held captive in Syria since 2015,” Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono told reporters.
“He appears to be in good health... We’re very glad he’s safe,” he said.
Photo: AFP
Japanese officials late on Tuesday said they were trying to confirm reports that the 44-year-old freelancer, who was seized in June 2015, had been freed.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that he had called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to thank them for their support.
Embassy officials visited Yasuda at an immigration center in Antakya, Turkey, and he is expected to return to Japan soon, after health checks.
“I’ve been held in Syria for 40 months, now in Turkey,” Yasuda said in English in a video filmed at the immigration center, which was shown on public broadcaster NHK.
Yasuda, who wore a black T-shirt and had a long beard, spoke in a steady manner. Yasuda’s wife, Myu, was appearing live on private station TV Asahi when Kono announced the news.
“Thank you... Thank you for praying for him and taking action,” she said in tears.
Yasuda was thought to have been seized by the group previously known as the al-Nusra Front, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, in northern Syria.
However, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda’s former branch in Syria, denied any involvement in a statement on Tuesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, on Tuesday said that Yasuda was released under a Turkish-Qatari deal, with some sources saying that a ransom had been paid.
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