Daniele Mastrogiacomo (born 30 September 1954) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and a

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

correspondent for ''

la Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

. An expert in foreign

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, he began working for ''la Repubblica'' in 1980 and has been a special international

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

since 1992. Mastrogiacomo reported on events such as police operation

Mani Pulite ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

, the

Marta Russo Marta Russo was a 22-year-old student at the school of law at the Sapienza University of Rome, who was shot and killed within the university grounds. Her death was the centre of a complex court case that garnered huge media attention owing to th ...

murder and the Priebke affair. He has worked in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. In 2006 he reported on the Lebanon war.

Early life

Mastrogiacomo was born on 30 September 1954,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Kidnapping

On 5 March 2007, Mastrogiacomo along with Afghan journalist

Ajmal Naqshbandi Ajmal is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * M. Ajmal, Pakistani film old best actor * Ajmal Ameer, Indian actor in Tamil and Malayalam film Industries * Ajmal Kasab, Pakistani terrorist * Ajmal Khattak, Pakista ...

, and an Afghan driver, Sayed Agha, was on his way to

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

-controlled southern Afghanistan after being promised an interview with a Taliban commander. They were

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

Mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Miz ...

Dadullah Dadullah (1966 – May 11, 2007) was the Taliban's senior military commander in Afghanistan until his death in 2007. He was also known as Maulavi or Mullah Dadullah Akhund ( ps, ملا دادالله آخوند). He also earned the nickname of ...

's men. The events that followed are shown in the documentary '' Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi'' and recounted in Mastrogiacomo's book, ''Days of Fear''. Initially, the Taliban believed Mastrogiacomo was a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

officer. When it was discovered that he was an Italian reporter, they demanded that Italy withdraw their troops. After Italy had refused, war surgeon and

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

founder

Gino Strada Gino Strada (21 April 1948 – 13 August 2021) was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization. Early life and education Gino Strada was b ...

contacted the Taliban in an attempt to free Mastrogiacomo. The Taliban made a video of the Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, his driver Sayed Agha and his colleague Ajmal Naqshbandi, kneeling blindfolded before gun-wielding militants. It then showed Agha being beheaded after which a shaken Mastrogiacomo made an impassioned appeal to Italian authorities to "do something," while underlining that the situation was "very difficult". The Taliban eventually freed Mastrogiacomo in exchange for the release of five Taliban prisoners (including Dadullah's brother Mullah Shah Mansoor and other Taliban commanders), and he returned to his country on 20 March. His first words were, "I hope the Taliban will never return to the Afghanistan

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

." Ajmal Naqshbandi was not released, and on 8 April 2007 he was beheaded. On 12 May 2007 Mullah Dadullah, as well as two of the Taliban commanders who were released in exchange for Mastrogiacomo, were killed by a US-led action. They included Mullah Hamdullah and Mullah Ghafar.

References

External links

Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi
- video report by ''Democracy Now!'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mastrogiacomo, Daniele 1954 births 2000s missing person cases Foreign hostages in Afghanistan Italian journalists Italian male journalists Italian war correspondents Italian people taken hostage La Repubblica people Living people Missing person cases in Afghanistan

Early life

Kidnapping

See also

References

External links