NYT Reporter Recounts 7 Months as Prisoner

Newspaper was prepared to pay $5M ransom to Taliban

(NEWSER) - David Rohde escaped from the Taliban only after weeks of planning, taking advantage of a length of rope to aid his descent down a 20-foot wall, the New York Times reports. The journalist and his Afghan colleague waited until a night when the city had electrical power, so the sound of their falls would be muffled by whirring air conditioners. More»

British paper kept abduction secret for Abdul-Ahad's safety

(NEWSER) - A Guardian reporter and two Afghan journalists are free after being captured six days ago by unknown Afghans while attempting to interview militia in a remote region, the paper reports. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad and his unnamed associates were taken hostage near Pakistan’s North-West Frontier province and spent most of their captivity on the move, subsisting on soup, bread, and tea. The paper is mum on the details of their release. More»

(NEWSER) - The Taliban's capture of an American soldier in Afghanistan is old news for some residents of his hometown, but they kept quiet out of concern for his safety, the AP reports. The family of Bowe R. Bergdahl asked neighbors and other community members in Hailey, Idaho, not to discuss his situation publicly—a request they honored for weeks. The Pentagon released his name over the weekend after a Taliban video surfaced online. More»

Times convinced all to put reporter's safety first

(NEWSER) - Media outlets ranging from major newspapers to blogs agreed to stay quiet on the kidnapping of New York Times reporter David Rohde, who escaped Taliban captors Friday after seven months, out of fear for his safety, reports the Washington Post. Times executive editor Bill Keller decided sit on the story and asked others to do the same—even personally appealing to al-Jazeera—after consultation with government experts. More»

(NEWSER) - A reporter for the New York Times held by the Taliban for 7 months in the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan has escaped, the paper says. The Times kept David Rohde’s abduction secret out of concern for his safety and had been in sporadic contact with him and his captors. Last night, he and a local reporter climbed over the wall of the compound where they were held and were helped to safety by a Pakistani soldier. More»