Four journalists still detained in Libya
Manu Brabo from Spain, Anton Hammerl from South Africa, and two Americans, Clare Gillis and James Foley, are still being detained by Gadhafi forces in Libya.
This story was originally covered by PRI's The World. For more, listen to the audio above.
Reporting from Libya can be dangerous. Journalists there are under the constant threat of both violence and detention by the Gadhafi regime. James Foley was in Benghazi reporting for the online news organization, Global Post. The Libyan government has confirmed that it's holding Foley and the others, but they won't say where.
Foley's mother, Diane, says she's determined to find out where her son is. In her latest conversation with her son, she said, "He said he was feeling strong and hopeful. He sounded very positive. He said he was eating and drinking. He sounded in good spirits."
The news sounded more encouraging recently. A little over a week ago, Foley's mother says, "we heard from the state department that Jim and Clare, and Manu had been moved to a safe house in hopes of release. So we were very hopeful."
Those hopes were dashed, though, after the NATO bombing that killed members of Gadhafi's family. "The Turkish embassy evacuated," Foley's mother told The World. That deprived the journalists of one of their principle advocates. She says, "They've been the chief negotiator."
Since then, information has been spotty. Foley's mother says: "Right now, since they were moved to this 'safe house' I don't know where they are. We really don't know. It's an awful feeling."
"I don't feel he's protected," she told The World. "And I don't feel he has anyone who really necessarily knows where he is or can go and rescue." Foley is a freelance journalist, so there's no large organization to back him up. His mother says, "I feel that he's really there alone."
His mother and friends have set up a website, www.freefoley.org to help petition for his release.
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