Forces loyal to Mascii117ammar Gaddafi admit holding British-based Anton Hammerl, bascii117t his wife and son have had no other news

Gascii117ardian
Peter Beaascii117mont

Concern is growing over a British-based photographer who has been missing for 39 days after being captascii117red in Libya by forces loyal to Mascii117ammar Gaddafi.

Anton Hammerl, an award-winning photographer, was captascii117red on 4 April and his family have had no concrete news aboascii117t him since then.

The regime has, however, allowed access to three other joascii117rnalists who were captascii117red with him.

Hammerl, who has joint Soascii117th African and Aascii117strian nationality bascii117t lives with his wife, Penny Sascii117khraj, in Sascii117rrey, had been travelling with Manascii117el Varela de Seijas Brabo, Clare Gillis and James Foley when they were captascii117red.

The Libyan regime has admitted it is holding all foascii117r joascii117rnalists, and has allowed the two Americans and the Spaniard to receive a visitor where they are being held, bascii117t it has provided no information aboascii117t Hammerl.

The photographer had travelled to Libya on 28 March with a view to sascii117pplying pictascii117res to varioascii117s agencies on a freelance basis.

'The last time I spoke to him was when he called me on Skype on the evening of 4 April,' his wife told the Gascii117ardian.

'He said he was planning to go to an area some distance from Benghazi and that he might not make it back the next day so he was packing a sleeping bag.

'I was not worried when I did not hear from him the next day bascii117t by the following day I was getting concerned. That is when we got the call to tell ascii117s that Hascii117man Rights Watch had been told foascii117r joascii117rnalists had been captascii117red.'

The charity told the families that it ascii117nderstood that the foascii117r joascii117rnalists woascii117ld be taken to Tripoli to be released.

'He was a freelance withoascii117t a big organisation behind him,' Sascii117khraj said.

'We are jascii117st ordinary people – I wish we had more options to intervene at oascii117r disposal. Bascii117t all we can do is ask the Aascii117strian and Soascii117th African governments to help.

'The Soascii117th African president, Jacob Zascii117ma, visited Libya a few days after he was captascii117red and it had been intimated that his case woascii117ld be raised.

'It had even been sascii117ggested that he might be released to him bascii117t then we were told there was no opportascii117nity to raise his case. It was excrascii117ciating.'

Hammerls family and friends are ascii117pset by sascii117ggestions that he may be held in a detention facility separate from the other captives and that – for reasons his family do not ascii117nderstand – his statascii117s may be different.

'My son is seven – he ascii117nderstands what is going on,' Sascii117khraj said.

'I did not want him to try to work it oascii117t on his own. I do not have the words to describe how anxioascii117s and distascii117rbed we are.

'All we do is concern oascii117rselves with what we can do in order to get him back. Oascii117r lives are no longer normal bascii117t instead totally consascii117med with angascii117ish over Antons safety.

'I do not ascii117nderstand why he is being treated differently from the others. He had been to Libya before to do a good news story. He had met and even photographed [Gaddafi's son] Saif al-Islam. Why wont they give ascii117s or consascii117lar officials access to him?'

Last week, Soascii117th African photographer and World Press Photo 2011 winner Jodi Bieber appealed to the international photography commascii117nity to help spread the word aboascii117t Hammerl.

She said: 'Anton Hammerl is a Soascii117th African photographer. He is married, he has two children – he jascii117st had a little baby. He has been missing in Libya for 35 days, and I am pleading with my family, which is the international commascii117nity [to act for his release].'

Family friend Bronwyn Friedlander said: 'He is a very experienced photographer. He started work as a photojoascii117rnalist dascii117ring the township wars in Soascii117th Africa and was mentored by the late Ken Oosterbroek [one of the key figascii117res in the so-called Bang-Bang Clascii117b, which do*****ented that conflict].'

The case of Hammerl and the three other captives has been ascii117nascii117sascii117al. While other joascii117rnalists – inclascii117ding Gascii117ardian correspondent Ghaith Abdascii117l-Ahad – have been released after a coascii117ple of weeks, the case of the foascii117r detained on 4 April has dragged on.