Twin Rallies Held In France, Mali In Support Of Kidnapped French Reporter - RSF

Two rallies in support of Olivier Dubois, a French reporter who went missing in Mali precisely two months ago, were held in the French and Malian capitals on Tuesday, a media watchdog said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2021) Two rallies in support of Olivier Dubois, a French reporter who went missing in Mali precisely two months ago, were held in the French and Malian capitals on Tuesday, a media watchdog said.

Reporters Without Borders said it had assembled journalists in Paris, who themselves went though the ordeal, to send a "message of hope" to the freelance reporter, who is held by militants linked to al-Qaeda (terrorist group banned in Russia).

"We know what it's like to be in the hands of those holding the power of life and death over you.

But we also know that you will return," Florence Aubenas, a journalist with Le Monde who was held hostage in Iraq for five months in 2005, said.

Dozens of people, including Dubois' family and friends, also gathered at the press home in the Malian capital of Bamako.

Dubois, 46, disappeared in the southern city of Gao on April 8 after he left for an interview with Abdallah Ag Albakaye, a senior member of an Al-Qaeda affiliated coalition of armed forces. A 21-second video was circulated on May 5, in which Dubois confirmed that he had been taken hostage by the group.