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Hamas tortures, frees German cameraman

By · July 31, 2008

A cameraman for a major German TV broadcaster says he was tortured by his Hamas captors before being released.

Sawah Abu Saif, 42, freed Thursday by members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was hospitalized in “bad condition,” according to the head of the ARD news agency’s studio in Israel, Richard Chaim Schneider. Saif was held for five days after being taken from his Gaza home.

His captors tortured him for information about ARD, Saif said.

The agency closed its Gaza bureau in reaction to the abduction and had no immediate plans to reopen.

Saif was taken captive July 26 by masked gunmen. Reportedly his abductors suspected Saif of being
a member of the rival political faction Fatah.  Schneider told reporters that Saif is not affiliated with any political party.

Hamas blamed Fatah for an explosion the day before that killed five Hamas militants and a child.

 

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