It will soon be 500 days since French journalist Olivier Dubois was taken hostage in Mali. “Everything possible is being done to obtain (his) release from him,” said Catherine Colonna, the foreign minister, on Thursday. Release in his first interview with a national newspaper.
“Let no one doubt it,” he adds.
“Discretion is essential”
Olivier Dubois has been held captive since April 8, 2021, when he was kidnapped in Gao, northern Mali, by the Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Jnim).
“We know that these efforts can take time to produce effects,” continues Catherine Colonna.
The Minister explains that “discretion is fundamental to the success of these efforts.” It is, according to her, the only “rule” to respect.
“He is not on vacation in Mali”
This Friday, the family of Olivier Dubois launched a large-scale initiative to warn about the fate of the journalist. The “Family Olivier Dubois collective” invites on this occasion to “holiday duty” which consists of sending a postcard to Emmanuel Macron to question him about the excessively prolonged detention of the journalist.
The goal is to “remind our President Emmanuel Macron that Olivier Dubois, our son and brother, has his feet in the sand, that he is sunny but that he is not on vacation in Mali,” the collective continues.
Catherine Colonna affirms in this regard that the Quai d’Orsay is “in regular contact with the family of Olivier Dubois” and that she asked this week to receive him.
Source: BFM TV
