Paris - The French authorities are still demanding that Ukrainian journalist Anhar Kochneva who was abducted in Syria be released, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Philippe Lalliot has said.
“The possibility of freely transmitting information is a universal value that should be observed everywhere. This also concerns the conflict zones. Therefore, this possibility should be guaranteed by all parties to the conflict in Syria. We are demanding that Ms. Kochneva be immediately released,” he said at a briefing in Paris on Wednesday.
Lalliot added that as far as he knows, Ukraine had not asked France to provide assistance in releasing the journalist.
Kochneva was abducted in October 2012 by Free Syrian Army militants, who threatened to kill her on December 16 if a $50-million ransom was not paid for her.
“When we were holding negotiations with the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian Embassy, they were failing to keep their promises and weren’t doing anything to have Ankhar released. In this situation, we decided to kill the young woman,” the commander of the group that had abducted Kochneva told 1+1 television.
The rebels said they had planned to put Kochneva to death on December 16, but decided to “give her a second chance.”
