Reports from Libyan and U.S. officials said that Foley, of Rochester, N.H., and three other journalists are expected to be taken to Tripoli and then released.
This undated still image from video released by GlobalPost.com, shows James Foley of Rochester, N.H., a freelance contributor for GlobalPost, in Benghazi, Libya. GlobalPost said it has been told Foley was taken prisoner in Libya on Tuesday, but is expected to be released along with three other journalists soon. BOSTON – An American correspondent for GlobalPost.com taken prisoner by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been located, the Boston-based international news website said Friday.
Reports from Libyan and U.S. officials say James Foley, of Rochester, N.H., and three other journalists are expected to be taken to Tripoli and then released, the inernational news website said. The other detained journalists are Clare Morgana Gillis, an American freelance journalist and contributor to The Atlantic; Spanish photographer Manu Brabo; and South African photographer Anton Hammerl.
GlobalPost President and CEO Philip Balboni said the news organization has not been able to independently confirm the reports about the journalists’ whereabouts.
“We are aware of reports coming out of Libya that our correspondent James Foley and the other journalists taken prisoner on Tuesday are now in the hands of the Libyan government and are safe,“ Balboni said in a statement. “We are not able to independently confirm these reports, but we are encouraged that a positive end to this situation may be closer at hand.“
New York-based Human Rights Watch said the journalists were taken captive Tuesday morning while reporting on the outskirts of Brega.
Foley regularly contributes videos and dispatches and had been traveling with Libyan rebels, said GlobalPost spokesman Rick Byrne.
Besides GlobalPost, Foley has written for a number of news organizations including Stars and Stripes and Al Jazeera. Foley has also appeared on PBS News Hour and sent video dispatches to CBS Nightly News.
Gillis has been based in the Middle East for a year and has written dispatches for The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor, according to her website.
GlobalPost said it and other news organizations are working to make sure the journalists are released immediately.
Reporters Without Borders said about 100 foreign reporters are in Libya to cover the conflict between longtime leader Gadhafi and rebel forces.
Before founding GlobalPost, Balboni was president and CEO of New England Cable News.