Al Jazeera | RFI English | Committee to Protect Journalists
Four French journalists kidnapped in Syria 10 months ago by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant were found by Turkish soldiers.
Al Jazeera reported Nicolas Henin, Pierre Torres, Edouard Elias and Didier Francois were discovered on the Turkish-Syrian border Saturday, their hands and eyes bound. They were taken to a police station in Akcakale. Authorities later released them.
The four, captured in two separate events in June, were reported in good health, RFI English reported. Two other French journalists remain in captivity in the Sahel.
At least 61 journalists were kidnapped in Syria last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists; 63 have been killed in the country since 1992.
The group has added Syria to its list of countries where journalists’ murders are most likely to go unpunished. In a report Wednesday, CPJ said Syria’s fifth-place ranking on its “Global Impunity Index” list “highlights the rising number of targeted killings there, a recent threat to journalists operating in the country.”
Related: Spanish journalists held in Syria for six months have been freed | Swedish journalists missing in Syria are freed | Photographer kidnapped in Syria is released | News organizations ask Syrian rebels to halt journalist kidnappings
