French journalist Olivier Dubois, who works with our newspaper Libération, was released on 20 March after 711 long days in captivity.
711 days since he was kidnapped by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM, in Arabic) while he was reporting from Gao, in northern Mali.
711 days that he was held hostage somewhere in the Sahel region. 711 days that he was the only known French hostage in the world. 711 days that this father of two missed his family, his friends, and his colleagues. 711 days that journalism missed him.
711 days of silence, fear and hope. 711 days too many.
