Journalists freed from hotel in Tripoli
At a hotel in Tripoli, 35 foreign journalists were held captive by supporters of the Libyan dictator. The journalists have now been released. Gaddafi's supporters reportedly told them they could leave safely.
The 35 or so reporters from various media organizations had been held in the hotel by armed Gaddafi supporters since the insurgents advanced into Tripoli at the beginning of the week. "Five-star hostage situation" is how CNN described the situation. The reporters have now left the Rixos Hotel in a convoy of vehicles. This was reported by CNN reporter Matthew Chance on Wednesday afternoon. "It was a nightmare," Chance said. Everyone was completely relieved. BBC reporter Matthew Prise also confirmed the release of the reporters after days of fear.
On Wednesday, reporters from the BBC and CNN reported that the journalists were prevented from leaving the luxury Rixos Hotel. The gunmen had threatened a cameraman from the British television station ITN with an AK 47 automatic rifle. This was reported by BBC reporter Matthew Price according to SDA. There was great nervousness among the journalists. They assumed that snipers loyal to Gaddafi were still posted on the roof. Price went on to report that the situation had worsened massively on Wednesday night. Guards were patrolling the corridors. It was clear that the journalists were not allowed to leave the hotel voluntarily.
According to SDA, CNN reporter Matthew Chance reported that there was only intermittent electricity. The "guests" of the hotel ran around at night with candles to search the rooms of the luxury hotel for food. Attempts were made to persuade the armed men to let the foreigners go. This failed.
