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Alan JohnstonBritish journalist
Date of Birth: 17.05.1962
Country:  Great Britain |
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Biography of Alan Johnston
Alan Graham Johnston, known as Alan Johnston, was born in 1962 in Lindi, Tanganyika, in a Scottish family. He studied at Dollar Academy, an ancient educational institution in the town of Dollar in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Later, he earned a master's degree in English language and political science from the University of Dundee. Alan obtained his journalism diploma from Cardiff University.
Journalistic Career
In 1991, Johnston joined BBC as a reporter and spent eight years in this role. During that time, he traveled to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Kabul, Afghanistan. Interestingly, he was in Kabul when Afghanistan was under Taliban control.
In the spring of 2007, as a BBC correspondent, Alan was in Gaza, where he was kidnapped by the Palestinian extremist group, Army of Islam, on March 12. His abduction caused a wave of outrage and protests worldwide, and he was ultimately released on July 4, 2007. Johnston was held captive in a small room measuring 2.5 by 2 meters, which had a sink and a refrigerator. The most challenging part of his captivity was the isolation from the outside world. Although his captors were not particularly cruel to him and he was not subjected to torture, they were not friendly either. Occasionally, they allowed him to listen to a radio, which is how he learned that his fate concerned a vast number of people worldwide. After regaining his freedom, Johnston sincerely thanked everyone who had shown concern for him. It is known that the Hamas movement played a significant role in his release.
During his time in Gaza, Johnston covered numerous significant political events, including the conflict between Gaza and Israel, as well as clashes between Palestinian groups and the 2006 elections. Today, Alan Johnston is considered one of the most respected journalists at BBC. Before his kidnapping, he was not particularly well-known to the general public, but his name became known worldwide afterward. However, the journalist himself prefers anonymity.
On May 10, 2007, while he was still in captivity, Alan Johnston was awarded the title of Journalist of the Year by the London Press Club. As he marked his 60th day in captivity, his father received the prestigious award on his behalf. The day after his release, Johnston received the Amnesty International Award. In June 2008, the University of Dundee bestowed upon Alan Johnston an honorary degree in law.
