Journalist Olivier Dubois, kidnapped in Mali on April 8, is the only French hostage held by a terrorist group.
Olivier Dubois, journalist who collaborated with Release, Point and Young Africa has been detained for a year in Mali. He is, to date, the only Frenchman detained by a terrorist group. On April 8, in Gao, in northern Mali, henchmen of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), one of the main Sahelian terrorist groups, kidnapped him. Since, “all the efforts are deployed, relentlessly, by the various competent services of the State to obtain his release“, guarantees the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.
Read also“We do not forget” the hostage journalist Olivier Dubois, assures Emmanuel Macron
The Elysee “ensures [la famille] for his unwavering support, his compassion in this painful ordeal and the full mobilization of State services to put an end to this unbearable confinement” and of “France’s condemnation of all forms of terrorism“. With our colleagues from FranceInfo Olivier Dubois’ sister, Canèle Bernard, deplores the lack of communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “It’s a year of nothingness“.
Received twice at the Quai d’Orsay, the family did not obtain any information on his whereabouts or his state of health: “Each time, these meetings took place after interventions in the media. What bothers us is having to go through the press to get a reaction from the government. Why is the silence the most total on his situation?“, adds his sister. For the ministry,in terms of terrorist kidnapping, discretion is an essential condition for the effectiveness of State action and the safety of our compatriots held hostage“. “Tireless work is carried out by our diplomatic teams, our military and the competent services“, had already assured Emmanuel Macron on January 11 during his wishes to the press.
The family published a video on social networks showing several personalities such as journalists Elise Lucet, Gilles Bouleau and Florence Aubenas but also actor Yvan Attal, as well as a petition ending with: “this is why we ask the French to the Africans to be signatories of this petition to free Olivier, who is a French victim of terrorism abroad“.