Freed journalist provides new details

Nov 03, 2018 | News On Japan

Nov 03, 2018 (NHK) - A journalist who was freed after being held hostage for more than 3 years in Syria is revealing new details about his experience. Jumpei Yasuda says he was kidnapped almost immediately after sneaking across the border from Turkey. His guides turned on him.

Jumpei Yasuda said "We walked for about an hour. At some point, we crossed the border between Syria and Turkey. Suddenly, the two-man team that had been guiding me grabbed my arms. They did not grab me with strong force. It was almost as though they were prodding me. They forced me onto a pick-up truck."

Yasuda said he was moved between 10 different places while in Syria.

At one point he was held in a large facility with other hostages.

Yasuda says his captors appeared organized but never told him if they were aligned with a specific group.

Yasuda said "They never revealed the name of their group. Even if they managed to get a ransom, I think they were still worried about being bombed. I had the impression that they were trying to be secretive about all of this, even to other groups in the area."

Yasuda said he had hoped to report on how people lived in an area controlled by Islamic State militants.

He ended up spending 40 months as a hostage.

He was freed last month and initially stayed in a Turkish border city.

There are still a lot of questions about his release.

Japan has denied paying a ransom but says Qatar and Turkey helped secure Yasuda's freedom.

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