Associated Press CAIRO: British Broadcasting Corp. correspondents rallied here Monday demanding the release of their colleague who was kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen seven weeks ago in the Gaza Strip. About 40 BBC journalists and other members of the media gathered downtown holding posters urging the release of Alan Johnston, who was abducted on March 12. Monday marks the 49th day since the 44-year-old correspondent was last seen. BBC correspondents expressed their disappointment with the dangers journalists face in some parts of the world and called upon international governments for support. Being aware of the dangers, he was one of the few to base himself in Gaza, said Ian Pannell, the BBC s Cairo bureau chief. He is hugely respected and admired in the BBC. On Monday, Deputy Palestinian Prime Minister Azzam Al-Ahmed said Johnston s kidnappers said the journalist was in good health. But he also said efforts to win Johnston s release reached a sensitive stage. We hope it will end soon, he said. If we don t reach an agreement, the law will take its course, whatever method we will use to end this issue which has given the Palestinians a bad image. On April 15, a group claimed it had killed Johnston, but never provided proof. The group called itself The Brigades of Tawheed and Jihad, a name used elsewhere by organizations linked to Al-Qaeda. Johnston s kidnapping is the latest in a string of abductions of foreign journalists in the Gaza Strip in recent months. But his captivity has stretched far longer than any of the others. I m here for Alan and I m here for the profession ... for what s happening to the media and all the reporters around the world - attacks, intimidation, killing, said BBC correspondent Eva Dadrian. Foreign and Palestinian journalists have been holding similar demonstrations on both sides of Israel s border with the Gaza Strip. Palestinian media have also held strikes protesting the government s inability to find Johnston.
