As Mellissa Fung heads home after her kidnapping ordeal, several issues are still being debated.
- A story in the Pakistan Observer alleging a prisoner swap was denied today by various Afghan and Canadian officials. The Canadian Press reports that several officials, including the Prime Minister and the Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan deny that a ransom of any sort was paid. Read more on that here.
- Meanwhile Les Perreaux at the Globe and Norman Specter both weigh in on the media embargo. Perreaux says no-one expected the embargo to continue as long as it did. And there are indications it may not have lasted much longer. An article in La Presse says that both the Globe and La Presse had asked the CBC last Friday for clarification on the risks of running the story.
- Now attention turns to Mellissa’s fixer and driver. Arnold Amber, who is now the president of the organization ‘Canadian Journalists for Free Expression,’ noted in a press release that Fung’s fixer, Shakur, and his brother are still being held by Afghan officials. Apparently Canadian government officials and CBC employees are still working for their release. John Cruickshank, Publisher, CBC News said during an interview that “Shakur was scooped up as was his brother, who was Mellissa’s driver that day, by Afghan authorities, and he’s been held since.” Cruickshank added that the CBC has made it clear that Shakur is a CBC employee in Afghanistan.
- During the interview Cruickshank also told of Fung’s phone call after her release “she sounded very, very at ease, very content. She admitted she really wanted her first shower. But you know she also said to us, she was sorry if she caused us any trouble. We just - everyone in the room laughed, we were so please to have her back,” Cruickshank said.
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