Spain: 3 journalists missing since July have been freed

MADRID – Three Spanish journalists who went missing while working in Syria in July have been freed from captivity, the Spanish government said Saturday.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s office said in a statement that Antonio Pampliega, Jose Manuel Lopez and Angel Sastre, who disappeared July 12 near the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, were safe and well.

Acting Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria had spoken to them by telephone, the statement said.

The government said the intervention of Turkey, Qatar and “other allies and friends” was instrumental in freeing the men, and that a plane was being sent to Turkey to bring them back to Spain.

Elsa Gonzalez, president of Spain’s federation of journalists, said the news was a cause for “joy and emotion.”

“Work by reporters like these elevates journalism,” Gonzalez said.