Canadian tourist taken hostage by Taliban in 2011 freed in Afghanistan

A Canadian man has been freed from captivity in Afghanistan after being taken hostage by the Taliban five years ago, Canada’s foreign minister said Monday.

Colin Rutherford, who was 26 years old when he was reported missing in February 2011 while visiting the war-torn nation as a tourist, was released with the help of Qatar, according to Stephane Dion, who provided no further details.

“Canada is very pleased that efforts undertaken to secure the release of Colin Rutherford from captivity have been successful,” Dion said in a statement.

“We look forward to Mr. Rutherford being able to return to Canada and reunite with his family and loved ones,” he added.


Rutherford had been captured in the central province of Ghazni by the Taliban, who accused him of being a spy.

In a video released by the militant group in May 2011, Rutherford said he traveled to Afghanistan to see “historical sites, old buildings, shrines”.

The announcement of Rutherford’s release comes as Pakistan hosted four-country talks Monday aimed at luring the Afghan Taliban back to the negotiating table with the Kabul government.

"Canadian Tourist Taken Hostage by Taliban in 2011 Freed in Afghanistan."
The Guardian. N.p., 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.

From <http://www.easybib.com/cite/view>



This article is about the release of a hostage of the Taliban. I find it interesting that this article is so short. This should be a major step forward, especially as the Taliban has been brought back to the "negotiating table." I find it interesting that the author does not go into that in further detail. He simply brushes over that fact at the end of the article. This could be seen as a bias of omission. The author makes no attempt to commit on the overall situation, but exclusively focuses on the hostage. There isn't even any mention of the process by which he was released, simply the statement that he was. I think this article could have been a lot more detailed. It is good news to hear that a hostage was released, but I would have liked to know more about how that happened.