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| French Hostage, Kidnapped by Islamic Militants in 2011, Is Freed | French Hostage, Kidnapped by Islamic Militants in 2011, Is Freed |
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| PARIS — Serge Lazarevic, a French hostage who was kidnapped in Mali three years ago by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has been released, President François Hollande said Tuesday. | PARIS — Serge Lazarevic, a French hostage who was kidnapped in Mali three years ago by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has been released, President François Hollande said Tuesday. |
| “Our hostage Serge Lazarevic, our last hostage, is free,” Mr. Hollande said in a video posted on his office’s website. “Now we no longer have any hostages in any country in the world.” | “Our hostage Serge Lazarevic, our last hostage, is free,” Mr. Hollande said in a video posted on his office’s website. “Now we no longer have any hostages in any country in the world.” |
| Mr. Lazarevic was abducted by Islamic militants from a hotel in the Malian town of Hombori on Nov. 24, 2011, along with another Frenchman, Philippe Verdon, a geologist. Mr. Verdon was killed in July 2013 in what militants called a revenge killing to punish France for intervening in Mali in January of that year after Islamic militants seized much of the country. | Mr. Lazarevic was abducted by Islamic militants from a hotel in the Malian town of Hombori on Nov. 24, 2011, along with another Frenchman, Philippe Verdon, a geologist. Mr. Verdon was killed in July 2013 in what militants called a revenge killing to punish France for intervening in Mali in January of that year after Islamic militants seized much of the country. |
| The Élysée Palace, the office of the French president, said in a statement that Mr. Lazarevic was in relatively good health despite the trying conditions he had endured in captivity. It said he would be returned quickly to France. | The Élysée Palace, the office of the French president, said in a statement that Mr. Lazarevic was in relatively good health despite the trying conditions he had endured in captivity. It said he would be returned quickly to France. |
| Mr. Lazarevic, a businessman who has dual Serbian and French nationality, appeared in a video on June 2 in which he appealed to Mr. Hollande to help secure his release. In November, he made another appeal in a video that the French authorities said confirmed that he was alive. | Mr. Lazarevic, a businessman who has dual Serbian and French nationality, appeared in a video on June 2 in which he appealed to Mr. Hollande to help secure his release. In November, he made another appeal in a video that the French authorities said confirmed that he was alive. |
| The French government did not indicate whether France had paid a ransom to secure Mr. Lazarevic’s release. In the past, the government has vehemently denied that it pays ransoms for French hostages. But it is widely said to make payments through intermediaries in some cases. | |
| While governments in Europe deny paying ransoms, an investigation by The New York Times found that Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just last year. | While governments in Europe deny paying ransoms, an investigation by The New York Times found that Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just last year. |