The journalists are Anthony Shadid, The Timess Beirut bureau chief, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting; two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who have extensive experience in war zones; and a reporter and videographer, Stephen Farrell, who in 2009 was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and was rescued by British commandos.
The four had been covering fighting near Ajdabiya last Tuesday when they decided that the battle had grown too dangerous for them to continue safely. Their driver, however, inadvertently drove into a checkpoint manned by forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi. By the time they knew they were in trouble, it was too late.
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I heard in Arabic, Shoot them, Mr. Shadid said. And we all thought it was over.
Then another soldier spoke up. One of the others said: No, theyre American. We cant shoot them, Mr. Hicks said.
The soldiers grabbed whatever they could get their hands on to tie up their prisoners: wire, an electrical cord from a home appliance, a scarf. One removed Ms. Addarios shoes, pulled out the laces and used them to bind her ankles. Then one punched her in the face and laughed.
Then I started crying, she recalled. And he was laughing more. One man grabbed her breasts, the beginning of a pattern of disturbing behavior she would experience from her captors over the next 48 hours.
There was a lot of groping, she said. Every man who came in contact with us basically felt every inch of my body short of what was under my clothes.
Their captors held them in Ajdabiya until the fighting with the rebels died down. Soldiers put the four in a vehicle and drove them out of the city around 2 a.m. One threatened to decapitate Mr. Hicks. Another stroked Ms. Addarios head and told her repeatedly she was going to die.
He was caressing my head in this sick way, this tender way, saying: Youre going to die tonight. Youre going to die tonight, she said.