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Press
Releases
10/24/2006
AP
photographer freed in Gaza after being kidnapped at gunpoint
By KARIN LAUB
Associated Press Writer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- An Associated Press photographer
was freed unharmed Tuesday after a harrowing day in the hands
of Palestinians who abducted him at gunpoint and dressed him
in women's clothes to spirit him from one secret location
to another.
Emilio Morenatti was brought before midnight to the office
of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by Fatah officials.
It was not clear who kidnapped him, though officials said
he was taken by criminals. The government and main Palestinian
groups denounced the abduction.
Morenatti, a 37-year-old Spaniard, looked fatigued after his
daylong ordeal but said he was unharmed.
"I'm tired but happy to have come back because there
were very anguished moments," said Morenatti.
He said the kidnappers held him in a small room, where he
was kept for about four hours during which he was visited
by masked men. Later he was put in a car dressed as a woman
and taken to another location.
"They put a bag on my head and they dressed me up as
a woman, as a woman in a long veil," the photographer
added.
Morenatti said he was blindfolded for much of the time, and
that his captors spoke only Arabic, which he doesn't speak.
"I didn't know at any moment what they were doing,"
he said. "They moved me but nobody explained anything
to me. It was very confusing."
The photographer said he was held in complete darkness for
hours. In the second house where he was held, Morenatti said
he heard the sounds of a family. He said he was given one
meal of cheese and lunch meat early in the day and a portion
of fruit later.
Morenatti did not know his captors. Palestinian Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh's office said in a statement that the identity
of the kidnappers was known and they "would be pursued."
Tom Curley, AP's president and chief executive officer, said,
"The Associated Press is relieved that Emilio has been
released, apparently unharmed. The security of our journalists
is always our top concern. We appreciate the assistance offered
by so many people in obtaining his release, especially Palestinian
and Spanish officials.
"It is crucial, however, that journalists such as Emilio
be able to freely report the news in areas of conflict. We
will be investigating what happened to assure that he and
others can continue their important work," Curley said.
Morenatti's family in Spain rejoiced at news of his release.
"We were all sitting around together and when we heard
the news we yelled with joy and then we opened a bottle of
rioja (wine) to celebrate," Miguel Angel Morenatti, a
brother of the photographer, told the AP.
"I managed to talk with Emilio for about 15 seconds and
he told me that he was well both physically and mentally.
The most important thing is that he is safe and free."
Morenatti was seized as he headed out of his Gaza City apartment
for an AP car, where Majed Hamdan, an AP driver and translator,
was waiting. Hamdan said four gunmen grabbed his keys and
cell phone and told him to turn away, pressing a gun to his
head and threatening to harm him if he moved.
They took Morenatti, shoving him into a white Volkswagen Golf
and driving off, Hamdan said.
Hours later, Morenatti was turned over to Fatah forces.
Abbas is not in Gaza, but his office is a safe Fatah stronghold
in the territory, which is in the throes of a sometimes violent
power struggle between Abbas' Fatah and the militant Islamic
Hamas, which is in charge of the Palestinian government.
In the past two years, militants have frequently kidnapped
foreigners as bargaining chips to get relatives released from
Palestinian prisons, secure government jobs or settle personal
scores. In most cases, the kidnappings were brief and the
hostages released unharmed.
But recently, the kidnappers have changed tactics. Two Fox
News journalists kidnapped in August were held for two weeks,
much longer than previous cases. The men also suffered physical
and mental abuse in captivity.
An unknown group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades claimed
responsibility for the August abduction, and its demand for
the release of Muslim prisoners held by the U.S. raised fears
that foreign extremists, perhaps al-Qaida, had infiltrated
Gaza. But Palestinian security officials said the name was
a front for local militants.
The media advocacy groups Reporters Without Borders and the
Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Morenatti's kidnapping.
"We're dismayed that journalists have become pawns of
Palestinian groups seeking to exploit them for political purposes,"
said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "These blatant
attacks on journalists will have a chilling effect on their
ability to do their work and will ultimately deprive the world
of information about this critically important story."
Morenatti, from Jerez, Spain, has been based in Jerusalem
since April 2005, handling periodic assignments in Gaza and
the West Bank. He has been in Gaza since Sunday.
Morenatti began working for the AP in April 2004, and spent
a year in Afghanistan covering the conflict there. He also
covered the war in Lebanon and the World Cup soccer tournament
in Germany.
In 1992, Morenatti began work as a photographer with EFE,
the Spanish news agency, Spain.
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