After a 28-day kidnapping ordeal kept secret by Canadian officials and media, a CBC television reporter was released from her Afghan captors on Saturday in good health.
Mellissa Fung was kidnapped by gunmen on Oct. 12 after interviewing refugees at a United Nations camp in the western slums of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
For almost a month, CBC staff along with Canadian and Afghan officials worked to secure her release while international media kept the story under wraps.
CBC publisher John Cruickshank said that the network had requested the media blackout so negotiators could work for her release without mounting public pressure.
"We must put the safety of the victim ahead of our instinct for full transparency," Cruickshank said at a press conference in Toronto Saturday.
"If there's a question of harm coming to a victim of crime, it's not our role to intensify that harm," he said, adding that "hundreds" of people had been working toward Fung's release.
"If there's a compelling reason to protect the victims of crime, we will do that."
It's believed Fung's captors were criminals, not Taliban insurgents.
Cruickshank said the 35-year-old reporter had already spoken to her parents and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"She sounded terrific," said Cruickshank. "She said she hadn't been harmed in any way, and she said to us she was sorry for all the trouble she caused."
Currently, Fung is staying at the Canadian embassy in Kabul, however, Cruickshank said that "plans are being made to reunite Mellissa with her family as soon as possible."
While the circumstances surrounding the reporter's release remained shrouded in mystery, Harper was clear that clear that "no ransom was paid by anyone in this case."
Harper added that the media blackout may have been crucial to Fung's survival.
"I would like to thank members of the press who, understanding the grave risk to Ms. Fung's life, have deferred publishing this story," he said.
Harper added that he spoke to Fung by phone and said she seemed to be in "remarkably good spirits.
"A short while ago I was pleased to speak with Mellissa myself to convey our great joy and best wishes on behalf of all Canadians," he said.
Fung, who is normally based out of Regina, was on her second reporting assignment to Afghanistan when she was captured.
"Ms. Fung was preparing to report on the plight of Afghan refugees and displaced persons when she was seized," said Harper.
"I commended her for her commitment as a journalist to deepening Canadians' understanding of the challenges and hardships faced by our Afghan friends and partners."
Adam Khan Serat, spokesperson for the provincial governor in Afghanistan's Wardak province, told The Associated Press tribal elders and local council members helped secure her freedom.
Serat also said there was no ransom involved.
Despite the dire circumstances, Mellissa's mother Joyce held out hope during the entire 28-day captivity.
Joyce Fung told The Canadian Press that in her "heart of hearts" she always believed her daughter would be set free.
"She's a very calm and collected person. She can handle stressful situations much better than her parents, actually," she said.
On Friday, another female journalist was set free near Kabul a week after she was kidnapped. The Dutch reporter was also unharmed during her captivity.
