Dear Friends,

What joy and relief! The journalist Olivier Dubois – held hostage for 711 days by an armed group affiliated to Al Qaeda in the Sahel – is free at last. After campaigning for his release for nearly two years, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is delighted with this wonderful news. We warmly salute all those who contributed to his release.
 
The freelance reporter for the French publications Libération, Le Point and Jeune Afrique, Olivier Dubois was kidnapped in Mali on 8 April 2021. RSF began campaigning for his release at once. We had received reassuring news about him on several occasions in the past few months, and again very recently. He seemed to be in good shape but the length of his captivity worried us. 

We thank the French authorities for doing what was necessary to obtain his release. It is to France’s credit that it does not abandon its citizens when they are taken hostage, and works to get them freed. Our thoughts are with his family, especially his partner and his son.

Many journalists are still being held arbitrarily all over the world. They need your support so that one day, like Olivier Dubois, they can recover their freedom.