Nationality Australian Name Nigel Brennan | Role Photojournalist | |
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Born 18 May 1972 (age 51) ( 1972-05-18 ) Similar People Amanda Lindhout, Sarah Corbett, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharm | ||
Tedxbyronbay 2013 nigel brennan
Nigel Brennan (born 18 May 1972) is an Australian photojournalist and author. In 2008, Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia kidnapped him, and Canadian freelance journalist, Amanda Lindhout. He was released 15 months later after a ransom payment was given to Brennan’s captors. He then went on to write a memoir recounting his hostage experience. In 2013, Brennan competed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and spoke after the end of the Atlantic leg about his abduction and its psychological aftermath.
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Nigel brennan photographer
Abduction
On 23 August 2008, three days after having arrived in Mogadishu, Nigel Brennan and Amanda Lindhout were ambushed and kidnapped along with their Somali translator, Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, their driver, Mahad Isse, and a driver from the Shamo Hotel, Marwali. They were on their way to conduct interviews at an IDP camp when they were stopped by gunmen. The abductors were teenage insurgents affiliated with the Hizbul Islam fundamentalist group. Brennan and Lindhout were held in isolation, mostly in a room 3 x 5 meters, and often in the dark.
Both Brennan and Lindhout converted to Islam to ingratiate themselves with their captors. An escape attempt through a toilet window ended with their dramatic recapture in a mosque. Elmi and the two drivers were released on 15 January 2009. The kidnappers later lowered the ransom demand to $1 million.
After being held hostage for 462 days, the ransom was paid. They were both released on 25 November 2009. Australian Greens parliamentary leader Senator Bob Brown and businessman Dick Smith loaned money to secure their release.
The Australian Government have a no-ransom policy which led them to having very little involvement to Brennan's case.
Memoir
In 2011, Brennan released the memoir, The Price of Life: A True Story of Kidnap & Ransom. He co-authored it with his sister, Nicky Bonney, and sister-in-law, Kellie Brennan, which detailed his psychological journey, from the first weeks to the end - as well as the family's perspective.
Dramatization
British documentary/docudrama television series Locked Up Abroad featured the personal account of photojournalist Nigel Brennan in Series 7 (2012) Episode 18: Somalia/Nightmare in Somalia. Actor Tom Oakley played the role of Brennan.