Kerala priest rescued from IS reaches India, meets Modi, Sushma

NEWDELHI: Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Vatican priest from Kerala who was freed from the clutches of the Islamic State terror group in Yemen earlier this month, returned to India on Thursday.

Uzhunnalil met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and thanked them for their support.

He was accompanied by tourism minister KJ Alphons and Jose K Mani, the local MP.

Speaking to reporters at the airport, Uzhunnalil said he would pray for a world free of conflicts and bring back those who had taken the path of guns to normal life. He also said he was unaware of any ransom money paid for his release.

“I was unable to move much in captivity. I also did not have any mode of communication to connect with the outside world. In that sense it was a difficult phase. I am grateful to everyone who had prayed for me,” the priest said.

Uzhunnalil was working as a chaplain at an old age home in Aden in Southern Yemen city from where he was kidnapped during an attack by unknown gunmen in March 2016. Sixteen people, including four nuns, were killed in the attack.

He was rescued from captivity from an undisclosed location in Yemen thanks to the intervention of the Sultanate of Oman that helped to find and rescue him.

The priest said he did not know his kidnappers’ identities and was not physically harmed during his detention.

After his release he was flown to Rome for a “required rest and recuperation period in Vatican City”, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

I was unable to move much in captivity. I also did not have any mode of communication to connect with the outside world. I am grateful to everyone who prayed for me. FATHER TOM UZHUNNALIL, Vatican priest from Kerala