Watchdog calls for release of journalist

Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders called yesterday for renewed efforts to secure the release of British photojournalist John Cantlie held by the Daesh group on the fifth anniversary of his kidnapping.

Cantlie was taken near the Turkish border in northern Syria along with US journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by Daesh in 2014.

“Today marks five long years that John Cantlie has been held in captivity,” said Rebecca Vincent, UK director for Reporters Without Borders, which is known by its French acronym as RSF.

She said Cantlie, who has appeared in a series of videos released by Daesh, had been “deprived of his liberty, exploited and used for propaganda purposes”.

Bring John home

“We urge all relevant authorities to do their utmost to ensure that John and his family do not have to endure another day of this hell, and that he is immediately brought home safely,” she said in a statement.

Cantlie last appeared in a video in December 2016 in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which has since been recaptured from Daesh militants.

In July 2017, RSF said there were unsubstantiated reports in Iraqi media that Cantlie had been killed in air strikes on Mosul. In October, it said an Daesh fighter had told French magazine Paris Match that he had seen Cantlie “seven or eight months ago” in Raqa, the militants’ former stronghold in Syria.

Cantlie is one of around 22 journalists and media workers still believed to be held hostage by Daesh, RSF said.