Taliban Frees Canadian Journalist

A Canadian journalist held for four days by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan crossed into Pakistan on Saturday night after Canadian diplomats negotiated his release.

Ken Hechtman, who writes for the weekly Montreal Mirror, appeared in good condition as he arrived in the Pakistani city of Quetta--bearded and dressed in traditional, loose-fitting Afghan clothing.

“I’m OK,” he told reporters before being whisked into a private home. Asked if a ransom was paid for his release, he replied, “No.”

Hechtman was detained by the Taliban on Tuesday after driving into southern Afghanistan without travel documents, Taliban official Mullah Aminullah said.

The Taliban held him in the border town of Spin Buldak, and despite initial reports of torture and chains, Andre Lemay, a Canadian government spokesman in Ottawa, said Hechtman did not appear to have been mistreated.

“He does appear to be in good health, though that’s something we will have to check out,” Lemay said.

Aminullah said earlier that Hechtman had been rescued by the Taliban after being seized by kidnappers.

But Lemay said, “We still can’t confirm that he was abducted or that the Taliban are involved.

“All we know is that he was missing and we’ve been trying to find him. Reports that there was a $50,000 ransom have not been confirmed. We’ll have to find out from him what has happened.”

Aminullah said officials had been considering prosecuting Hechtman on spying charges but relented during a meeting Saturday with Pakistani officials and Canadian diplomats.

“We are releasing him on the recommendation of Pakistani authorities,” he said.

Francois Bugingo, an official from Reporters Without Borders, said Hechtman was expected to talk to his family shortly.

“He seems to be in good condition. He seems to have been treated well, but we still need to talk to him,” said Bugingo, speaking from Montreal.

Asked why the Taliban had released Hechtman, he said: “They trusted the voice of the Pakistani authorities that were working with the Canadian authorities.

“Staff at the Mirror magazine also were very successful at showing that he was a true reporter. So things started to change a little bit from yesterday from when he was accused of being a spy.”

Shafi Kakar, a Pakistani official who participated in the negotiations, said the Taliban had been suspicious because Hechtman arrived without travel documents--not even the Pakistani documents needed to visit the border area--and had a satellite telephone and maps of the area.

Hechtman, 33, has been in Pakistan and Afghanistan since early October. His most recent report for the Mirror, from Peshawar, Pakistan, appeared in the Nov. 22 edition. A Nov. 15 article was from Taliban-held territory in Afghanistan.

Eight journalists have been killed in Afghanistan since Oct. 7, when the United States launched a military campaign to drive the Taliban from power for harboring Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S.