Kidnapped British reporter Alan Johnston appeared Friday in a videotape posted on a Web site, saying his captors had treated him well, denouncing Israel and blasting Britain's Mideast policy. It was the first sign of life from him since he was abducted almost three months ago.
The videotape bore the logo of the Army of Islam, the shadowy Palestinian group that had been believed to be holding the 45-year-old BBC reporter.
"My captors have treated me very well, they've fed me well, there has been no violence towards me at all and I am in good health," he said in his opening remarks.
"In three years here in the Palestinian territories I witnessed the huge suffering of the Palestinian people, and my message is that the suffering is continuing and it is unacceptable," he said. He blamed Britain and the U.S. for causing suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, and for "occupying Muslim lands against the will of the people in those places."
Johnston slammed Britain for its role in Israel's creation on land the British once administered, calling Israel "the cause of all the suffering of the Palestinian people." "We the British are completely to blame, along with the Americans, for the situation in Iraq," he added, while "the British are the main force in Aghanistan, causing all the trouble to all the simple Afghans who simply want to live."
He started giving a message to his family, but was cut off. Subtitles then appeared on the videotape, saying, "The BBC refused to take this message to his family."
