Libya Releases 4 Times JournalistsLevent Sahinkaya, center, the Turkish ambassador to Libya, at the Turkish Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, with the four freed New York Times journalists: from left, Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks, Lynsey Addario and Anthony Shadid. The Libyan government released four New York Times journalists on Monday, six days after they were captured while covering the conflict between government and rebel forces in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. They were released into the custody of Turkish diplomats and crossed safely into Tunisia in the late afternoon.
Like many Western journalists, the four had entered the rebel-controlled eastern region of Libya over the Egyptian border without visas to cover the insurrection against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. They were detained by forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi in Ajdabiya.
The journalists are Anthony Shadid, The Timess Beirut bureau chief, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting; two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who have extensive experience in war zones; and a reporter and videographer, Stephen Farrell, who in 2009 was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and was rescued by British commandos.
After The New York Times reported having lost contact with the journalists last Tuesday, officials with the Qaddafi government pledged that if they had been detained by the governments military forces, they would be located and released unharmed.
Bill Keller, the executive editor of The Times, wrote in a note to the newsroom that he was overjoyed at the news.
Because of the volatile situation in Libya, weve kept our enthusiasm and comments in check until they were out of the country, but now feels like a moment for celebration, he wrote.
Were particularly indebted to the government of Turkey, which intervened on our behalf to oversee the release of our journalists and bring them to Tunisia, he added. We were also assisted throughout the week by diplomats from the United States and United Kingdom.
A clearer account of their capture and detention has come to light now that the four journalists have been released from Libyan custody.
On Tuesday, the journalists were leaving the front lines of the clashes between pro-Qaddafi forces and rebels in and around Ajdabiya. As they attempted to drive east toward the relative safety of the rebel capital of Benghazi, they approached a new checkpoint. It belonged to a group of Qaddafi fighters who detained them. The Qaddafi forces then suddenly came under fire from rebels, and a gunfight ensued. When the fight let up, the journalists captors drove them along a coastal road until they reached the Qaddafi stronghold of Surt. From there, they were flown in a military aircraft to Tripoli.
On Thursday afternoon the Libyan government informed The Times through various channels that the journalists were in the custody of Libyan authorities and would be freed soon. They were allowed a phone call to their families that night.
They were turned over to Turkish diplomats Monday afternoon, and began the long drive to the border with Tunisia.