ID :
10160
Tue, 06/17/2008 - 10:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/10160
The shortlink copeid
Japanese tourist freed in Pakistan, meets father in Tehran
Tehran, June 17 Kyodo - A Japanese traveler freed Saturday after bandits kidnapped him in southeastern Iran in October apologized Monday for having caused trouble to the governments
of Japan and Iran, while noting that he was not treated violently while being captured.
''I am very sorry that I caused a great deal of trouble to the Iranian
government, the Japanese government and all others,'' Satoshi Nakamura, a
23-year-old student at Yokohama National University, said at a press conference
in Tehran, together with his father.
''I was never treated in a violent way (by the bandits),'' he said. ''I tried
to keep my nerve by thinking about my family.''
Earlier in the day, Nakamura was reunited with his father Kiyotaka, 54, who
just arrived in Tehran, accompanied by Japanese Senior Vice Minister for
Foreign Affairs Itsunori Onodera.
Nakamura arrived in Tehran on Sunday after being released in neighboring
Pakistan and transported under the protection of Iranian authorities to a local
government facility in a suburb of Zahedan in Iran's southeastern Sistan and
Baluchestan Province.
Nakamura underwent a medical check at the Japanese Embassy in Tehran and no
major problem was found, embassy officials said.
A senior embassy official said embassy officials have yet to ask Nakamura about
the details of his kidnapping.
''He looks good as he is young,'' the official said. ''Without doubt, however,
he is tired.''
The three are scheduled to return to Japan on Tuesday night via Dubai and Seoul.
Nakamura was abducted near the southeastern Iranian city of Bam on Oct. 7 after
entering Iran by way of Pakistan. He had been traveling alone after teaching
English in Nepal with a volunteer group.
Nakamura is believed to have been kidnapped by a drug smuggling group,
Shahbakhsh. The group was reportedly demanding the release of detained group
members as a condition for releasing Nakamura.
The Japanese government had called for Iranian cooperation in securing the
release of Nakamura and Iranian authorities were negotiating with the group via
intermediaries for the release.==Kyodo
of Japan and Iran, while noting that he was not treated violently while being captured.
''I am very sorry that I caused a great deal of trouble to the Iranian
government, the Japanese government and all others,'' Satoshi Nakamura, a
23-year-old student at Yokohama National University, said at a press conference
in Tehran, together with his father.
''I was never treated in a violent way (by the bandits),'' he said. ''I tried
to keep my nerve by thinking about my family.''
Earlier in the day, Nakamura was reunited with his father Kiyotaka, 54, who
just arrived in Tehran, accompanied by Japanese Senior Vice Minister for
Foreign Affairs Itsunori Onodera.
Nakamura arrived in Tehran on Sunday after being released in neighboring
Pakistan and transported under the protection of Iranian authorities to a local
government facility in a suburb of Zahedan in Iran's southeastern Sistan and
Baluchestan Province.
Nakamura underwent a medical check at the Japanese Embassy in Tehran and no
major problem was found, embassy officials said.
A senior embassy official said embassy officials have yet to ask Nakamura about
the details of his kidnapping.
''He looks good as he is young,'' the official said. ''Without doubt, however,
he is tired.''
The three are scheduled to return to Japan on Tuesday night via Dubai and Seoul.
Nakamura was abducted near the southeastern Iranian city of Bam on Oct. 7 after
entering Iran by way of Pakistan. He had been traveling alone after teaching
English in Nepal with a volunteer group.
Nakamura is believed to have been kidnapped by a drug smuggling group,
Shahbakhsh. The group was reportedly demanding the release of detained group
members as a condition for releasing Nakamura.
The Japanese government had called for Iranian cooperation in securing the
release of Nakamura and Iranian authorities were negotiating with the group via
intermediaries for the release.==Kyodo
