By Rich Bowden, M&C Staff Writer Oct 5, 2007, 10:46 GMT
(M&C) - The BBC journalist who was abducted and held by militants in Gaza City earlier this year is to reveal details of his ordeal in an hour-long Panorama special.
BBC reporter Alan Johnston smiles as he prepares to board a flight at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, 07 July 2007. Johnston was kidnapped by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, and released 04 July 2007 after 114 days in captivity. EPA/KEVIN FRAYER/POOL
Alan Johnston spent 113 days in captivity before being released in on July 4. The documentary, to be shown on October 25, will include questions put to Mr Johnston and interviews with some of those involved in the campaign for his release.
However Mr Johnston will not return to Gaza for the TV show.
The veteran reporter said after his release in July, "I think three years of Gaza as a correspondent followed by four months of kidnap in Gaza is probably more Gaza than most people need in their lives and I do not think I will be going back for some time."
The BBC has confirmed Mr Johnston will be returning to duties in the New Year though has not specified where the reporter will be sent.
Meanwhile a journalism watchdog organisation has released an open letter of support by Mr Johnston to al-Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Haj, who has been detained in Guantanamo Bay since 2002.
In the letter Mr Johnston said, "While I was kidnapped recently in the Gaza Strip fellow journalists from around the world joined the campaign mounted to try to secure my release, and of course you were among them. I was particularly grateful for your contribution given your own very difficult circumstances."
"In the light of my own experience of incarceration I am aware of how hard it must be for you and your family to endure your detention, and I very much hope that your case might be resolved soon."
"I understand that after some five years in Guantanamo you are calling to be allowed to answer any allegations that are being made against you. And of course I would always support any prisoner's right to a fair trial."
Mr Al-Haj has been incarcerated as an "enemy combatant" in Guantanamo Bay. Journalists' rights organization Reporters Without Borders has repeatedly expressed concern about the Al-Jazeera cameraman who is believed to be on a hunger strike.
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