Japanese Journalist Yasuda Detained in Syria: Rights Group

Tokyo, Dec. 23 (Jiji Press)--Japanese freelance journalist Junpei Yasuda was held hostage by an armed group in Syria in July, Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, has said, calling on the Japanese government to do "everything possible" to obtain his release. The armed group has demanded ransom and threatened to kill Yasuda, 41, or sell him to "another terrorist group" if its demand is not met, Paris-based RSF said in a statement on Tuesday. According to information obtained by RSF on Monday, Yasuda was kidnapped by the group in an area controlled by the Al-Nusra Front, affiliated with international terrorist group al-Qaeda, a few hours after he entered Syria in early July and is still being held hostage. Yasuda went to Syria to do research on the alleged execution of fellow Japanese journalist Kenji Goto by the Islamist State militant group, RSF said. A video purporting to show Goto's execution was posted online in January. In a statement, RSF urged the Japanese government to "act quickly" in line with its obligations under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which call for the protection of civilians during armed conflicts, and U.N. resolutions, including the 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution on the safety of journalists. An official of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Press Division said the ministry has no specific information about the reported detention of the journalist. Although aware of the reports, the ministry declines to comment in view of the nature of the matter, the official said. Yasuda has covered conflicts in Iraq and Syria and was detained briefly in Iraq in April 2004. His Twitter account has not been updated since his posting on June 20 this year. END