Asia-Pacific News
Japanese engineer freed by kidnappers in Yemen (1st Lead)
Nov 17, 2009, 15:52 GMT
Sana'a, Yemen - A Japanese engineer was released Tuesday, one day after tribesmen took him hostage near the capital Sana'a to press Yemeni authorities to release a jailed clan member, the Japanese embassy said.
'The governor of Sana'a informed us that the man was freed and that he was on the way to Sana'a,' an embassy official told the German Press Agency dpa.
Police officials confirmed the release of the 63-year-old engineer, whose name was not given.
They said tribal mediators secured the hostage's release after they made pledges to the kidnappers to meet their demands.
The kidnappers, who belong to the al-Zindani clan, were seeking to gain the release of a fellow clansman detained by police.
The engineer was visiting a school construction site in Arhab district, around 20 kilometres north-east of Sana'a when the armed tribesmen took him.
The project is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), for which the engineer works.
Yemeni tribesmen often resort to kidnapping foreigners to coerce authorities into releasing detained kinsmen.
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