Zeenews Bureau
Ottawa: Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, who was freed after 15 months in captivity in Somalia, says she was beaten and tortured by her captors, who she called criminals pretending to be freedom fighters.
The families of Lindhout and Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan paid a one-million dollar ransom for their freedom, she acknowledged to broadcaster CTV.
She said her captors' motivation was not political. "I think that it was criminals -- criminals under the guise of being freedom fighters for Somalia," she said.
Lindhout said she spent her captivity "sitting in a corner on the floor 24 hours a day for the last 15 months. There were times that I was beaten, that I was tortured."
"It was extremely oppressive," she added. "I was kept by myself at all times. I had no one to speak to. I was normally kept in a room with a light, no window, I had nothing to write on or with. There was very little food."
The kidnappers told her that they beat her, she said, because the money "wasn't coming quickly enough."
"They seemed to think that if they beat me enough, then when I was able to speak to my mother... that I would be able to say the right thing to convince her to pay the ransom for me, which was one million dollars," she explained.
Meanwhile, Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan flew out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in a chartered plane, said Mohamed Abdullahi.
Journalists waiting at Mogadishu airport were not able to speak to Lindhout and Brennan because they were in a convoy of vehicles full of government soldiers and African Union peacekeepers.
Lindhout and Brennan were released on Wednesday. Police spokesman Colonel Abdullahi Hassan Barise declined to say if a ransom was paid for their release.
A police officer and a lawmaker said late Wednesday that a USD 700,000 ransom was paid for the two journalists' release. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media on the issue. It was not possible to independently verify their claim.
In Australia, Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said on Thursday that Brennan "has revealed that he had been pistol whipped and locked in chains for the past 10 months after a failed escape attempt. I'm sure that all Queenslanders would join me in offering our heartfelt goodwill to Mr Brennan and his entire family."
Kellie Brennan, Nigel's sister-in-law, told reporters: "It's very hard to express the overwhelming sense of joy that we have today."
Lindhout and Brennan were kidnapped in August 2008. A Somali journalist who was captured with them was freed in January this year.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has said Lindhout works for French TV station France 24 and Global National News of Canada. Brennan is a freelance photographer.
(With PTI inputs)