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British Journalist Detained in Afghanistan
A woman journalist from a British newspaper was arrested Friday in northeastern Afghanistan where she had gone with two guides to report on the crisis over the presence there of alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Yvonne Ridley, 41, who was working for the Sunday Express and Daily Express newspapers, was apprehended in Dour Baba district dressed in Afghan attire and veil, according to the Afghan Islamic Press, a private news agency close to Afghanistan's Taliban leadership.
Her two male guides were also arrested about nine miles inside Afghan territory, the agency said. They were taken to Jalalabad about 40 miles to the north on charges of entering the country illegally.
The agency quoted Taliban authorities as saying Ridley was carrying no passport or other travel documents. Police seized a camera from her.
In London, Sunday Express editor Martin Townsend said Ridley worked for the newspaper.
In a statement, The Sunday Express said Ridley was the newspaper's chief reporter and "a highly experienced journalist who has worked in many countries around the world."
In a letter to the Taliban's foreign minister, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, Reporters Without Borders urged the Afghan government to release Ridley and her two guides.
Reporters Without Borders said Ridley entered Afghanistan on Wednesday.
Last week, the Taliban ordered foreign reporters to leave the country after fears of American air strikes in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
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