Jeff Tynes, friend and former colleague of abducted journalist Jill Carroll, says:
News regarding Jill Carroll has been few and far between for the last several days. Everyone has been on pins and needles. But there have been some developments of real note. The number and caliber of appeals coming out for her release has been stunning. There was the plea from a former member of Gamaa Islamiya ( Link ) calling for her release, then a top Hamas offical. Then came rumblings that six female Iraqi detainees might be released, rumblings that US forces in Iraq denied.
Then came a powerful statement from the wife of Tareq Ayyoub, one of Jill's colleagues at The Jordan Times. Tareq was killed in Iraq by a U.S. missile in the early days of the war. His wife, Dima Tahboub, made a powerful statement to a Jordanian paper (in Arabic) saying, "Kidnapping journalists hurts the message of humane resistance and makes its message criminal." ( Link ) The statement reminded Natasha of the terrible fate that has now befallen two Jordan Times reporters.
But today, five female Iraqi detainees were in fact released (Link ). And, as of just a few minutes ago, a breaking wire story from the Associate Press has an Iraqi police officer saying he thinks Jill may be freed soon ( Link ). The mother of Hala, one of the women being freed, even had kind words and hope for Jill's release, telling AP: "We are happy and we thank God for this blessing … I call upon the kidnappers of the American reporter to release her because she is as innocent as Hala."
This all looks tremendously hopeful. All the good wishes and prayers sent out for Jill may finally, hopefully, be answered.
Previous posts on Boing Boing about the kidnapping of freelance reporter Jill Carroll in Iraq: Link
