The family of French journalist Olivier Dubois, kidnapped in Mali in April by a jihadist group, calls on France and Mali "
to unite
" to achieve his release, in a text sent Thursday August 5 to AFP.
Read also: Mali: 100 days after his kidnapping, a support march for French journalist Olivier Dubois
This text was written on the anniversary of the journalist who will celebrate his 47 years in captivity on Friday August 6, nearly four months to the day after his kidnapping.
"We also dream that France and Mali will unite, finally, to get you out of the Sahel"
“
Like Martin Luther King in August 1963, we have a dream ... that of believing that you will regain your freedom quickly and that we will celebrate this moment all together, mother, brother and sisters accompanied by your children.
We also dream that France and Mali will unite, finally, to get you out of the Sahel
”, they write.
"
May the French and Malian States hear us and grant this wish, because only they have the possibility of achieving it from now on
", they continue, calling on the journalist to "
hang on
".
Freelance journalist living and working in Mali since 2015, Olivier Dubois is the only French hostage known in the world.
He himself announced his kidnapping in a video posted on social media on May 5.
He explained that he was kidnapped on April 8 in Gao (North) by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM, or Jnim in Arabic), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda.
At the end of May, France confirmed that he was hostage to a jihadist group.
In Paris, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) opened a preliminary investigation for "
organized kidnapping
" and "
in connection with a terrorist enterprise
".