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South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl
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Libyan authorities released three freelance writers and Spanish freelance photographer Manu Brabo yesterday, but freelance photographer Anton Hammerl--who hasn't been heard from since April 4--remains unaccounted for.
Libyan authorities had reportedly told South African authorities in April that they had also detained Hammerl, who is South African. But now the Libyan authorities deny that they are holding him or know his whereabouts, according to the online news site GlobalPost.com.
South African officials are also backing away from earlier reports that they had proof that Hammerl was still alive. A spokesperson for South Africa's International Relations and Co-operation Ministry said the minister had been misquoted in earlier reports, according to a report from news24, a South African media organization.
News24 quotes the ministry spokesperson as saying that the South African government is operating on the assumption that Hammerl is still alive, and that South AFrican diplomats have gone to the Libyan capital "to ascertain his whereabouts and get access."
The other two journalists detained with Brabo on April 5 and finally released yesterday were James Foley, a correspondent for Global Post and Clare Morgana Gillis, a correspondent for The Atlantic and USA Today.
A fourth journalist, British freelancer Nigel Chandler, was also released. Prior to his release, his detention had not been widely reported
Human Rights Watch, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Global Post and other organizations had appealed to the Libyan government through Turkish diplomats for their release. Soon after the journalists were first detained, Libyan officials indicated that they would be released quickly.
However, the detentions stretched into weeks after Turkey cut its diplomatic ties with Tripoli, and NATO began bombing targets in Libya. The Libyan government said it was holding the journalists because they had entered the country illegally.
Libyan authorities finally allowed the three journalists to contact their families from jails in Tripoli in late April. Gillis reported to her family that she, Foley, and Brabo were not with Hammerl when they were arrested.
Family and friends of the journalists set up Facebook pages to raise awareness about their plight, and bring pressure to bear on Libyan officials to release them. An online petition for the release of the journalists drew more than 30,000 signatures.
A Facebook page called "Free photographer Anton Hammerl" continues to attract well-wishers
Upon his release yesterday, Foley told the Global Post, "I am overwhelmed to hear about all the support."
Libyan authorities escorted Foley and the other three journalists to the Tunisian border, although Libyan Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim invited them to remain in the country to continue reporting on the war if they wished, according to a BBC report. He suggested that they were mistakenly arrested because Muammar Qadaffi's forces took them for "European army experts" fighting with the rebels.
"If anyone was mistreated then we extend our apologies," Ibrahim said, according to the BBC.
