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PRESS RELEASE
The citizen of the Netherlands Arjan Erkel released
On April 11th, 2004 the Dutch citizen Arjan Erkel was released after two years of captivity. He was abducted on August 12th, 2002 in Makhachkala, Dagestan, where he was staying as the mission head of the Swiss department of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Organization.
All these months the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the federal bodies and organizations of Dagestan in close cooperation with the Dutch authourities took up all the necessary measures to make the release of Arjan Erkel possible.
This afternoon Mr Erkel arrived in Moscow and tonight he leaves for the Netherlands.
According to the preliminary information issued by the Dutch sources, Arjan Erkel is in satisfactory physical and emotional condition.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation would like to declare again firm condemnation and inadmissability of any terrorist activities and abduction of hostages. It's of vital importance for the World Comminity to continue its joint struggle in order to prevent such barbarian actions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation would like to express its deepest appreciation of the fruitful cooperation aimed at solution of this difficult humanitarian problem with the Dutch party and especially with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moscow.
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