Alan Johnston
Encyclopedia
Alan Graham Johnston is a British
journalist
working for the BBC
. He has been the BBC's correspondent in Uzbekistan
, Afghanistan
and the Gaza Strip
, and is currently the correspondent in Rome. Johnston was kidnapped by a group of Palestinian militants
on 12 March 2007, and released nearly four months later on 4 July, after Hamas
' seizure of control in Gaza
.
, Tanganyika
(present-day Tanzania
), to Scottish
parents.
, an independent school
which is said to be the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world, in the small town of Dollar
in Clackmannanshire
in central Scotland
, followed by the University of Dundee
, where he graduated with an MA
in English
and politics
. He also completed a diploma in Journalism Studies from Cardiff University
.
, Uzbekistan
, as well as Kabul
, Afghanistan
. He was in Kabul when Afghanistan was still under the control of the Taliban. He was due to be the BBC's full-time correspondent in Gaza
until 1 April 2007, and at the time of his kidnapping was the only foreign reporter with a major Western
media organisation to still be based in the city.
Johnston covered many major stories in Gaza
for the BBC, including Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
in 2005, Hamas
winning the 2006 legislative elections
, the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
and the Palestinian factional violence of late 2006 to 2007.
Johnston is regarded by the BBC as a respected, experienced journalist, and due to his local knowledge, he was someone other journalists would turn to for information when in Gaza. Prior to being kidnapped however, Johnston was not a journalist well known to the general public. Following his release he announced his intention to return to obscurity though, as of January 2008, he took over the presentation of the BBC World Service
version of the programme From Our Own Correspondent
.
Johnston's BBC colleague Paul Adams noted that it was Johnston's "job to bring us day after day reports of the Palestinian predicament in the Gaza Strip." Mustafa Barghouti
, Palestinian Information Minister, has described Johnston as a "friend of our people", and said that Johnston "has done a lot for our cause." Imprisoned Fatah
leader Marwan Barghouti
has also called Johnston a "friend of the Palestinian people".
When not working as a correspondent, Johnston produces radio reports, one of which, on life after the Taliban, won a Sony Radio Academy Award bronze. Johnston has also worked as programme editor of The World Today
and as a general reporter in the BBC World Service newsroom.
From November 2011 Johnston has been the BBC's correspondent in Rome.
The London Press Club named Johnston as British Broadcasting Journalist of the Year at an awards ceremony held on 10 May 2007. Accepting the award for Johnston, who was spending his 60th day in captivity, his father said that while the award meant a lot, "my family ... would like Alan to stand here today himself."
The day after he was released, Johnston was awarded a prize by Amnesty International
for his radio reports on human rights in Gaza, praising him for his "commitment to telling ordinary peoples' stories."
On 12 March 2007, Johnston was kidnapped by the Army of Islam. His captivity led to many protests worldwide. Hamas
put immense pressure on the Army of Islam, including (according to a senior Hamas militant) the threat to hunt them down and kill them if they didn't release Johnston. On 4 July 2007, Johnston was freed. He was taken to meet Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh before leaving with an entourage of British diplomats to Jerusalem.
conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws upon Johnston.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
working for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. He has been the BBC's correspondent in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
, and is currently the correspondent in Rome. Johnston was kidnapped by a group of Palestinian militants
Kidnapping of Alan Johnston
The kidnapping of Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist, by the Palestinian Durmush Hamula in Gaza City began on 12 March 2007 and lasted for nearly four months ....
on 12 March 2007, and released nearly four months later on 4 July, after Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
' seizure of control in Gaza
Battle of Gaza (2007)
The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Hamas and Fatah that took place between June 7 and 15, 2007 in the Gaza Strip. After winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, Hamas and Fatah formed the Palestinan authority national unity government in 2007, headed by Ismail Haniya. In...
.
Early life
Johnston was born in LindiLindi
Lindi is a coastal town located at the far end of the Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is 450 kilometers south of Dar es Salaam and 105 kilometers north of Mtwara, the southernmost coastal town in Tanzania, and gives its name to the surrounding Lindi Region, one...
, Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
(present-day Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
), to Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
parents.
Education
Johnston was educated at the Dollar AcademyDollar Academy
Dollar Academy was founded in 1818, which makes it the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of the thriving town of Dollar in Central Scotland, less than 40 minutes drive from the two main Scottish cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh...
, an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
which is said to be the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world, in the small town of Dollar
Dollar, Clackmannanshire
Dollar is a small town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated between the Ochil Hills range to the north and the River Devon to the south. Dollar is on the A91 road, which runs from Stirling to St. Andrews. The town is around 3 miles east of Tillicoultry...
in Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
in central Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, followed by the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
, where he graduated with an MA
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
in English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. He also completed a diploma in Journalism Studies from Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
.
Career
Johnston joined the BBC in 1991, and has spent eight years as a correspondent for them, including in TashkentTashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, as well as Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. He was in Kabul when Afghanistan was still under the control of the Taliban. He was due to be the BBC's full-time correspondent in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
until 1 April 2007, and at the time of his kidnapping was the only foreign reporter with a major Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
media organisation to still be based in the city.
Johnston covered many major stories in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
for the BBC, including Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
in 2005, Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
winning the 2006 legislative elections
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
, the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
2006 Israel-Gaza conflict
The 2006 Israel–Gaza conflict refers to the series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces . Large-scale conventional warfare beyond the peripheries of the Gaza Strip began when Israel launched Operation Summer Rains , the codename for an IDF military operation in the...
and the Palestinian factional violence of late 2006 to 2007.
Johnston is regarded by the BBC as a respected, experienced journalist, and due to his local knowledge, he was someone other journalists would turn to for information when in Gaza. Prior to being kidnapped however, Johnston was not a journalist well known to the general public. Following his release he announced his intention to return to obscurity though, as of January 2008, he took over the presentation of the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
version of the programme From Our Own Correspondent
From our own Correspondent
From Our Own Correspondent is a BBC radio programme in which BBC correspondents broadcast monologues on topical current events from countries outside the UK...
.
Johnston's BBC colleague Paul Adams noted that it was Johnston's "job to bring us day after day reports of the Palestinian predicament in the Gaza Strip." Mustafa Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti is a Palestinian democracy activist. He was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005, finishing second to Mahmoud Abbas, with 19% of the vote.Barghouti was born in Jerusalem...
, Palestinian Information Minister, has described Johnston as a "friend of our people", and said that Johnston "has done a lot for our cause." Imprisoned Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
leader Marwan Barghouti
Marwan Barghouti
Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti is a Palestinian political figure. He is regarded as a leader of the First and Second Intifadas. Barghouti at one time supported the peace process, but later became disillusioned, and after 2000 went on to become the main figure behind the Al-Aqsa Intifada in the...
has also called Johnston a "friend of the Palestinian people".
When not working as a correspondent, Johnston produces radio reports, one of which, on life after the Taliban, won a Sony Radio Academy Award bronze. Johnston has also worked as programme editor of The World Today
The World Today (BBC World Service)
The World Today is BBC World Service's high profile, Sony Radio Academy Award winning, early morning news and current affairs programme, which as of the 27th March 2011 will be broadcast from 0300 to 0830 daily. It consists of news bulletins on the hour and half hour, serious international...
and as a general reporter in the BBC World Service newsroom.
From November 2011 Johnston has been the BBC's correspondent in Rome.
The London Press Club named Johnston as British Broadcasting Journalist of the Year at an awards ceremony held on 10 May 2007. Accepting the award for Johnston, who was spending his 60th day in captivity, his father said that while the award meant a lot, "my family ... would like Alan to stand here today himself."
The day after he was released, Johnston was awarded a prize by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
for his radio reports on human rights in Gaza, praising him for his "commitment to telling ordinary peoples' stories."
Kidnapping
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
put immense pressure on the Army of Islam, including (according to a senior Hamas militant) the threat to hunt them down and kill them if they didn't release Johnston. On 4 July 2007, Johnston was freed. He was taken to meet Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh before leaving with an entourage of British diplomats to Jerusalem.
Honours
On June 19, 2008, the University of DundeeUniversity of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws upon Johnston.
See also
- Durmush HamulaArmy of Islam (Gaza Strip)Army of Islam , also known as Tawhid and Jihad Brigades, is the name used by the Doghmush Hamula for their Islamic militant activities. It is located at the Tzabra neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip bordered by Israel and Egypt...
- Gilad ShalitGilad ShalitGilad Shalit is an Israeli – French citizen and Israel Defense Forces soldier. On 25 June 2006, he was captured inside Israel by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the border with Gaza. The Hamas militants held him for over five years, until he was released on...
- John McCarthyJohn McCarthy (journalist)John Patrick McCarthy CBE is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster, and one of the hostages in the Lebanon hostage crisis...
- Yvonne RidleyYvonne RidleyYvonne Ridley is a British journalist, war correspondent and Respect Party activist best known for her capture by the Taliban and subsequent conversion to Islam after release, her outspoken opposition to Zionism, and her criticism of Western media portrayals of the War on Terror...
- Olaf Wiig
- Steve CentanniSteve CentanniSteven James Centanni is an American news reporter for Fox News Channel.-Journalism career:Centanni joined FNC in 1996. He is currently based in Washington D.C. as a national correspondent....
- Ces DrilonCes DrilonCes Orena-Drilon or more commonly known as Ces Oreña-Drilon is an award winning Filipino broadcast journalist. She graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a degree of Bachelor of Arts major in Communication Research...
- 2006 Fox journalists kidnapping2006 Fox journalists kidnappingFox News Channel journalists Olaf Wiig , a New Zealand photojournalist, and Steve Centanni, an American reporter, were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip by the Holy Jihad Brigades, a previously unknown group of Palestinian militants, from their TV van near the Palestinian security services' headquarters...