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British Diplomats Seek to Free Reporter From Taliban
Britain's Foreign Office said on Saturday it was in contact with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, in a bid to free a British reporter who was arrested near the eastern Afghanistan city of Jalalabad.
Yvonne Ridley, 43, a reporter for the Sunday Express newspaper, is said to have been detained on Friday for allegedly entering the country illegally.
"We are making inquiries about her well-being and any charges that may be brought against her," a spokeswoman for the foreign office said.
"If these reports are confirmed we urge those holding her to treat her well and to resolve this situation quickly. We are in contact with the Taliban over this case and are deeply concerned for her welfare and seek to pursue this with the utmost vigor and care," she said.
But she gave no details of the nature of the contact with the Taliban.
The Afghan Islamic Press said Ridley was arrested with two guides, wearing traditional Afghan dress without carrying any travel documents.
Afghanistan has expelled foreign journalists and refused to issue new visas.
Ridley is understood to have been in the Middle East since the September 11 attacks on the United States two weeks ago.
She had been reporting for both the Sunday Express and Daily Express from Peshawar and Islamabad in Pakistan.
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