The release of the BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston is very welcome, despite the propaganda it served for Hamas in freeing him. He'd been held for 114 days in conditions he described as "like being buried alive" by the Army of Islam group, the heavily armed Doghmush family clan which is both linked to Al Qaeda and criminality.
Mr Johnston was released into the hands of Hamas leader and former Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh (still PM in his organisation's eyes), in what was designed as a public demonstration of the group's authority in Gaza following its recent routing of the Fatah forces of President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas is determined to show that its writ runs in the beleaguered territory, and, just as importantly, as a spokesman insisted, that it "is serious in imposing security and stability". The group also suggested the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Hamas-allied militants last year, could be freed next, although, true to form, adding that Israel must release hundreds more Palestinian prisoners. Some good sign, although Hamas has made clear it has no intention of disarming the Army of Islam. Hamas will have to do much more to convince of its bona fides as a partner in peace.
Mr Johnston's kidnap has raised once again the issue of the vulnerability of journalists in conflict zones and in states where democratic values remain precarious. Often they are easy targets because they guarantee international media attention. The NGO Frontline records some of the attacks in the last month alone: on June 22nd, investigative journalist Iren Karman was brutally attacked on the outskirts of Budapest; on June 20th in Yemen's capital Sana'a, journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani was arrested and beaten for oppositional activities.
In Istanbul the trial opened on Tuesday of those accused of murdering Hrant Dink, editor of Agos, killed because he was prepared to challenge Turkish silence on the Armenian genocide. Yet, ironically, as it prosecutes his alleged killers, the Turkish state has also initiated the prosecution of his son, Arat Dink, and three other Argos journalists for "insulting Turkish identity" under article 301 of the criminal code.
In Iraq two journalists from a Sunni TV station have been killed in the last four weeks. According to the International News Safety Institute, since the US invasion, at least 82 journalists have been kidnapped in Iraq. Of those, 28 have been killed and six are still being held. Some 47 journalists have been freed and the condition of one is unknown. At least 29 journalists are being held by kidnappers worldwide. In all 1,000 news media personnel around the world have been killed trying to report the news over the past 10 years.
Last year the UN Security Council (Resolution 1738), required states to regard journalists as civilian non-combatants and protect them accordingly. A worthy gesture, but it would be unwise to rely on it.