Shias to Free 2 Kidnaped Frenchmen
Two Frenchmen kidnaped nearly four months ago will be freed Tuesday if Israel proceeds with its plan to release the last of its Lebanese prisoners, a Shia Muslim Amal militia spokesman said today.
“We understand that Kaufmann and Seurat will be released shortly after Israel frees the last of its Lebanese prisoners . . . on the same day,” Amal spokesman Ali Hamdan said.
Jean-Paul Kaufmann, 41, a correspondent for the French weekly magazine L’Evenement du Jeudi, and Michel Seurat, 37, were kidnaped by gunmen May 22 as they drove into Beirut from the airport.
119 to Be Freed Tuesday
Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir said earlier today that the last 119 Lebanese prisoners will be released Tuesday.
The Shia hijackers of a TWA jetliner in June demanded that Israel release all its 766 remaining Lebanese prisoners in exchange for 39 American hostages. Israel said it refused to make a deal with the hijackers, but began freeing its Lebanese prisoners in stages shortly after the Americans were released.
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