Freed Dutch Al Qaeda captive describes three-year desert ordeal

A Dutchman freed from captivity in Mali by French soldiers this week described his struggle to remain mentally and physically well during the three and a half years he spent sleeping outside in the desert as an Al Qaeda hostage. In his first statement since being freed on Monday, Sjaak Rijke said the years of captivity had been difficult although he had mostly been well treated by his captors. "The past years have been tough, both physically and mentally," he said in a statement issued via the Dutch foreign ministry on Thursday in which he asked for privacy as he and his family recovered from the ordeal.

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