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NY Times Reporter Escapes 7 Months Of Taliban Imprisonment
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 21, 2009
Modified Jun 21, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 21, 2009
Modified Jun 21, 2009
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Yesterday, the NY Times revealed that its reporter David Rohde "escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan...Mr. Rohde told his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, that [fellow kidnapped reporter Tahir] Ludin joined him in climbing over the wall of a compound... They made their way to a nearby Pakistani Frontier Corps base and on Saturday they were flown to the American military base in Bagram, Afghanistan." Rohde, who was previously kidnapped in Bosnia, appears to be in good health, while Ludin injured his foot. The Times and Rohde's family "declined to discuss details of the efforts to free the captives, except to say that no ransom money was paid and no Taliban or other prisoners were released," with Times executive editor Bill Keller explaining, "As other victims have told us, discussing your strategy just offers guidance for future kidnappers." Mulvihill who expressed her gratitude to the Times, U.S. government and other agencies, said, "They just walked over the wall of the compound...We’ve been married nine months. And seven of those, David has been in captivity."
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afghanistan
David Rohde
kidnapping
NY Times reporter
taliban
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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