MOSCOW, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - Four Italian journalists were abducted on Friday in northern Syria, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported early on Saturday Moscow time, citing a foreign ministry statement.
A crisis response team has been set up to handle the issue. Italian authorities called the media to be as careful as possible in their reports, citing the safety of the journalists.
“The safety of our compatriots remains our foremost priority,” ANSA quoted the statement as saying.
The news came shortly after President Bashar al-Assad signed a decree to toughen punishment for kidnapping charges. Currently, anyone convicted of kidnapping a person will be punished with lifetime hard labor. If a hostage was killed, injured or raped, his or her abductors will be executed.
Abductions have become frequent in the past months in territories controlled by anti-government forces.
