Mellissa Fung

The CBC reporter held in Afghanistan resisted, defied and then forgave them

That Mellissa Fung story went away rather fast, no?

Kathy English, the Toronto Star‘s Public Editor, recalls what happened when the family of Je Yell Kim, “a dental technician in his 50s who was held in Communist North Korea on vague charges relating to ‘national security,’” begged the newspaper not to report on his plight on grounds “that doing so could jeopardize negotiations to free him.” Short version: no dice.

Aaron Wherry on the Mellissa Fung release

Read the original macleans.ca interview with Esprit de Corps publisher, independent military analyst-at-large and all-round action figure Scott Taylor here, and then check out the followup posts from Chris Selley and Aaron Wherry, in which they attempt to reconcile the Prime Minister’s claim that “no ransom was paid” with Mellissa Fung’s own account of how and why she was released.

I spoke with Scott Taylor yesterday on the subject of kidnappings—he’s something of an expert on that—and his take on the various ethical implications of Mellissa Fung’s capture and release. You’ll find the ensuing Q&A here.

The veteran war reporter on the many questions raised by Mellissa Fung’s kidnapping

Weekend roundup

The Pakistan Observer is reporting that two Taliban leaders held on charges of terrorism and murder of foreign troops were released in exchange for the freedom of CBC journalist Mellissa Fung, who had been held captive in a tiny cave west of Kabul for 28 days. The World Desk is trying to independently confirm the story. If true, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s claim that no ransom was paid for Fung’s release was disingenuous.