Stephen Farrell (journalist)
 | This article is about a person involved in a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (September 2009) |
Stephen Farrell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Notable credit(s) | The Times; The New York Times |
Stephen Farrell (nicknamed "Robohack") is a journalist who holds both Irish and British citizenship[1] and has been the Middle East correspondent for The Times. In July 2007, he joined The New York Times as a correspondent in Baghdad[2]. He is married and is writing a book on Hamas.[3] He has experienced kidnapping twice in his lifetime.
2004 Kidnap–Iraq
In April 2004, while on assignment for The Times, he was kidnapped during the siege of Fallujah[4].
2009 Kidnap–Afghanistan
On September 5, 2009, Farrell, his interpreter Sultan Munadi and driver were in a village south of Kunduz, Afghanistan, investigating the NATO strike on two hijacked fuel tankers that killed 56 Taliban men and more than a dozen villagers. Munadi was warned earlier by one of his local friends that the villagers were very angry about the strike and it would not be safe to visit the place. However, the journalists decided to go there, and got out of the car at the site of the wrecked tankers to interview the eye-witnesses. Soon after, an alarm was raised of a group of 10 militants approaching. The driver fled into a field and hid in tall grass, while Farrell and Munadi were kidnapped.
Farrell was freed in a raid by NATO forces four days later at the cost of a British Commando's life [5] as well as that of his interpreter. During his captivity, media organizations and Wikipedia imposed a news blackout on his kidnapping, similar to what had been done for fellow The New York Times journalist David Rohde a few months earlier.[6]
Notes
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8245455.stm
- ^ The New York Observer Media Mob: Times Names James Glanz as Baghdad Bureau Chief Accessed 17 April 2007
- ^ The Guardian
- ^ CNN Transcript 01 April 2006.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8245862.stm
- ^ Schmitt, Eric (2009-09-09). "Seized Times Reporter Is Freed in Afghan Raid That Kills Aide". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
External links
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