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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| BBC checks 'Alan Johnston tape' | BBC checks 'Alan Johnston tape' |
| (21 minutes later) | |
| The al-Jazeera news channel has received a tape purportedly from the kidnappers of the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston. | The al-Jazeera news channel has received a tape purportedly from the kidnappers of the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston. |
| It includes certain demands and shows pictures, including one apparently of Mr Johnston's BBC identity card. | |
| It was delivered to al-Jazeera in Gaza and was made by a group calling itself Jaish-e-al-Islam (The Army of Islam). | It was delivered to al-Jazeera in Gaza and was made by a group calling itself Jaish-e-al-Islam (The Army of Islam). |
| The BBC said it was investigating the contents of the tape, but would not be commenting further at this stage. | The BBC said it was investigating the contents of the tape, but would not be commenting further at this stage. |
| The 44-year-old journalist has been missing for more than eight weeks, after being seized at gunpoint on his way home in Gaza City on 12 March. | |
| 'Decent man' | |
| Until now, the kidnappers have not made their demands public or made any contact with the media. | |
| In April, the previously unheard of Tawhid and Jihad brigades claimed it had executed Mr Johnston, though that claim could not be verified. | |
| The Palestinian government says it has received information that Mr Johnston is alive, and is working for his release. | |
| There have been high-level appeals for his freedom, including from the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. | |
| On Monday, United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour called on the captors to release "this very decent man". | |
| Mr Johnston joined the BBC World Service in 1991 and has spent eight of the last 16 years as a correspondent, including periods in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. | |
| He has lived and worked in Gaza for three years and was the only Western reporter permanently based in the often violent and lawless territory. |