(5 Jul 2007)
1. Set up shot of Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemrai Bashary
2. Cutaway
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Zemrai Bashary, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman:
"The German citizen, along with his interpreter, who were kidnapped, were released as a result of the hard work of the police today. And now they are in Delaram district of Farah province with the police. They are safe and secure, and now, later on the decision will be taken whether they will be brought to Kabul, or they will be handed down to the authorities down there."
4. Cutaway
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Zemrai Bashary, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman:
"His health condition is very good. He's healthy, safe, and currently they're with the police of Delaram district of Farah province. There is no concern about their health and security. We are sure that he's safe and now the police are taking care of them."
6. Close shot of policeman
7. End shot of Bashary talking to reporters
STORYLINE:
Kidnappers released a German man and his translator on Thursday, a week after they were seized in western Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said.
The two men were in good health and looked after at the office of the police chief in Delaram district of Farah province, said Zemrai Bashary, a ministry spokesman.
Bashary attributed the release to "hard work of the police" but provided no further details.
"They are safe and secure," Bashary told reporters in the capital, "and later on the decision will be taken whether they will be brought to Kabul."
The men were released hours after the kidnappers, using tribal elders as intermediaries, demanded 40,000 dollars for freeing them.
It was not immediately clear if any money had changed hands.
The German, believed to work for a company that builds roads, and his Afghan translator went missing in Farah a week ago.
Farah Governor Muhaidin Baluch said the pair, whose names have not been released, were kidnapped in the province's Bakwa district, near the Delaram district where they were last seen.
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