The International Press Institute (IPI) will send a high-level delegation to the Palestinian Authority from 4 to 6 June 2007 to advocate for the release of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston.

Johnston was abducted by masked gunmen while on his way home from his office in Gaza City on the evening of 12 March. At the time of his abduction, Johnston, who has been the BBC correspondent in Gaza for three years, was the only western broadcast journalist both living and working there.

Responsibility for Johnston’s abduction has been claimed by the Army of Islam, a little-known militant group. The group released a video of Johnston on 1 June, the first images to be released since his abduction.

Together with their Palestinian counterparts, the delegation will meet with journalists organisations, civil society groups, senior government representatives and other parties in Ramallah to advocate for Johnston’s release and to discuss related press freedom issues.

The IPI Delegation Members are:
· Boris Bergant, Vice President, European Broadcasting Union; Deputy Director-General, RTV Slovenia
· Johann Fritz, Director, International Press Institute (IPI), Vienna, Austria
· Kadri Gursel, Foreign News Editor, Milliyet, Istanbul, Turkey
· Ismai’ila Isa, Publisher, The Democrat, Kaduna, Nigeria
· Viktor Kocher, Middle East Correspondent, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich
· Piotr Niemczycki, IPI Chairman, Publisher, Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw, Poland
· Catherine Power, IPI Middle East/North Africa Press Freedom Coordinator
Local Coordinators are:
· Radwan Abu Ayyash, Former Chairman, Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
· Daoud Kuttab, Director, Institute for Modern Media, Al Quds University, Ramallah, Palestine

The delegation will hold a press conference to report on the findings of the mission at 16:00 on Wednesday, 6 June 2007, at the Grand Park Hotel in Ramallah.

For further inquiries about the mission, please contact: IPI Middle East Coordinator Catherine Power, +43-1-512 9011 or +43-699-1896 5596, [email protected]