Nigel Brennan Explained

Nigel Brennan
Birth Date:1972 5, df=yes
Education:
Occupation:Photojournalist and author
Nationality:Australian

Nigel Brennan (born 18 May 1972)[1] is an Australian photojournalist and author. In 2008, Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia kidnapped him and Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout. He was released 15 months later after a ransom payment was given to his captors. He then went on to write a memoir recounting his hostage experience. In 2013, Brennan competed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and spoke after the end of the Atlantic leg about his abduction and its psychological aftermath.[2] [3] [4]

In 2022, he was cast on the first season of the Australian reality show The Traitors, finishing 7th of 24 contestants.[5]

Abduction

On 23 August 2008, three days after having arrived in Mogadishu, Nigel Brennan and Amanda Lindhout went to interviews at an IDP camp. On the way they were stopped by gunmen and kidnapped along with their Somali translator, Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, their driver, Mahad Isse, and a driver from the Shamo Hotel, Marwali.[6] The abductors were teenage insurgents affiliated with the Hizbul Islam fundamentalist group.[7]

The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of three million US dollars. Brennan and Lindhout were held in isolation, mostly in a room 3 x 5 meters, and often in the dark.[8] Both Brennan and Lindhout converted to Islam to ingratiate themselves with their captors.[8] An escape attempt through a toilet window ended with their dramatic recapture in a mosque.

Elmi and the two drivers were released on 15 January 2009.[9]

The Australian Government having a no-ransom policy led them to having very little involvement in Brennan's case.[10] [11] [12] The kidnappers later lowered the ransom demand to $1 million.[13]

After being held hostage for 462 days,[14] the ransom was paid. Australian Greens parliamentary leader Senator Bob Brown and businessman Dick Smith lent money to secure their release.[15] They were both released on 25 November 2009.

Memoir

In 2011, Brennan released the memoir The Price of Life: A True Story of Kidnap & Ransom, which detailed his psychological journey, from the first weeks to the end - as well as the family's perspective. He co-authored it with his sister Nicky Bonney, and sister-in-law Kellie Brennan.

Dramatization

British documentary/docudrama television series Banged Up Abroad featured the personal account of photojournalist Nigel Brennan in Series 7 (2012) Episode 18: Somalia/Nightmare in Somalia. Actor Tom Oakley played the role of Brennan.[16]

The Traitors

Brennan was a contestant on the Australian version of the gameshow Traitors in the first season.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Kidnap journalist's 'sick in shackles' . 27 May 2009 . The Australian Broadcast Corporation. .
  2. News: Kidnap victim Nigel Brennan speaks of ordeal, anger at federal government . 1 December 2013 . 23 April 2014 . News.com.au.
  3. News: From hostage to sailor: the extraordinary story of Nigel Brennan . 28 November 2013 . 23 April 2014 . Andrew Collins and Chloe Papas . ABC.
  4. News: Hostage for 462 days ... tale of survival out of Africa . Sydney Morning Herald . 23 April 2014 . 25 June 2011 . Tim Elliott.
  5. Web site: Nigel The Traitors . 2022-11-18 . 10 play . en-AU.
  6. News: Canadian journalist reported abducted in Somalia . . 23 August 2008 . 23 June 2014.
  7. Web site: Theglobeandmail.com . 25 May 2010 . 23 June 2014 . The Star.
  8. Book: The Price of Life:A True Story of Kidnap & Ransom . Penguin Australia Pty Ltd . 23 June 2014 . 2011 . Nigel Brennan, Kellie Brennan and Nicole Bonney.
  9. News: Cbc.ca . Cbc.ca . 16 January 2009 . 23 June 2014.
  10. Web site: Piracy Emerging from Somalia: International and Indian Responses . 1 January 2013 . 23 June 2014 . Sage Publications.
  11. Web site: Australian Government Response to the Report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee: Held Hostage . September 2012 . 23 June 2014 . Australian Government: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140213070120/https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/held-hostage/ . 13 February 2014 . dmy-all .
  12. Web site: Australia's no-ransom policy . 2010 . 23 June 2014 . Parliament of Australia.
  13. News: Dawn Walton . Theglobeandmail.com . Theglobeandmail.com . 4 August 2009. 23 June 2014.
  14. Web site: Nigel Brennan Biography . 2014 . 23 June 2014 . ICMI Speakers 7 Entertainers.
  15. Web site: Freed Somalia hostage apologises to family . 9 Dec 2009 . 23 June 2014 . Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  16. Web site: Nightmare in Somalia . 10 August 2012. 13 October 2018. imdb.com.