NIAMEY: Authorities in Niger have charged the driver of a 78-year-old Frenchman with complicity in his April kidnapping, which has been claimed by the North African branch of Al-Qaeda, a security source said Sunday.
The Algerian driver of the Frenchman was being held in Niamey’s prison "and has already been charged with complicity in the kidnapping", the official said on condition of anonymity.
The Algerian driver was kidnapped along Frenchman Michel Germaneau on April 19 in northern Niger near the border with Mali and Algeria, but was later released by the kidnappers.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed to have abducted Germaneau in a message released last week along with video footage of Germaneua.
Tourist abductions are frequent in the vast desert zone between Niger, Mali and Algeria, where the Al-Qaeda branch operates.
AQIM killed a British tourist it kidnapped in January last year, and is still holding two Spanish aid workers abducted in Mauritania last November, but has released several other hostages.
