(18 Mar 2013) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of journalist Ankhar Kochneva 2. Close of Kochneva holding glass of tea 3. Close of plate with Syrian and Ukrainian flags 4. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Ankhar Kochneva, escaped journalist: "I was on the way to my home in Damascus from the beach (Tartus). I was in a proper taxi. The criminals said that I was driving a military vehicle to drive up my price. It was a real kidnapping of a civil person from a proper taxi, civil transport. The criminals stopped cars, took away people and their transport and captured a petrol tanker. They took me into the depths of their enclave and then started to try to sell me." 5. Close of Syrian map 6. Various of Kochneva 7. Close of Syrian magazine 8. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Ankhar Kochneva, escaped journalist: "They didn't secure me well. They said that there were lots of control points on the streets, but I didn't see any apart from next to my house. I ran out quietly and nobody heard me. They didn't secure me well, I wasn't chained up. Maybe they got used to me being there for five months and thought if I hadn't run by then, I never would." 9. Wide of Syrian Ambassador in Ukraine Said Aqil 10. Various of map showing where Kochneva was captured 11. Portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad 12. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Said Aqil, Syrian Ambassador in Ukraine: "Ankhar Kochneva is free. Ankhar is a very important person for us. She is a very objective person, a person who knows the truth." 13. Wide exterior of Syrian Embassy in Ukraine 14. Close of Syrian Embassy emblem STORYLINE A Ukrainian journalist has returned home from Syria after escaping captors who held her for more than 150 days. She recounted her ordeal on Monday, staunchly defending the government of President Bashar Assad and promising to return to Syria to "defend the truth." Ankhar Kochneva, 40, who has worked in Syria as a travel agent, translator, journalist and blogger for several years, returned to Kiev on Sunday after she walked free last week. Kochneva was kidnapped in western Syria on 9 October and reportedly held by members of the Free Syrian Army opposition group. In a video statement, her captors accused her of cooperating with Russian security services and threatened to execute her unless ransom was paid. None of the rebel brigades officially claimed responsibility for holding the journalist. Kochneva said she was kidnapped outside the city of Homs when she was riding in a taxi on the way to Damascus. She said she had been at a beach and had her swimsuit with her. The journalist said she was held in a small room in a six-room house, which was permanently cold because the windows were broken. Kochneva said her meals consisted of a piece of flatbread and a half of a tomato, which caused her to lose a lot of weight and brought on other health problems. Her captors insulted, threatened and psychologically abused her, for instance throwing a washbasin into a wall near where she was standing, she said. Kochneva denied the rebels' accusations that she was a spy, saying she was a well-known travel agent and editorial assistant working with Russian, Ukrainian and Western media outlets in Syria. Kochneva said she decided to try to escape after she realised that negotiations on freeing her had reached a dead end and her captors were getting impatient. "I ran out quietly and nobody heard me. They didn't secure me well, I wasn't chained up. Maybe they got used to me being there for five months and thought if I hadn't run by then, I never would," she said. Having escaped, she then walked through the fields until she found a resident to help her. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/777a15791c3160cc1e375feca601918c

• published: 31 Jul 2015
• views: 51