Kidnapped reporter 'journalist of the year

LONDON, May 10 (UPI) -- BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, kidnapped in Gaza two months ago, was named broadcast journalist of the year Thursday by the London Press Club.

The club pointed out that Johnston, the only Western journalist permanently based in Gaza, was nominated for the award before his abduction.

At an awards ceremony in London, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, called for Johnston's release and described his own experience as a prisoner in Uganda during the dictatorship of Idi Amin.

Johnston, who had lived in Gaza for three years, was kidnapped on March 12. This week, an Islamic group that claims to be holding him, issued a tape that includes demands to be met for his release and a photo of his BBC pass.

The kidnapping has outraged Johnston's colleagues. In Palestine, local journalists staged a three-day strike demanding his release.

Johnston has been with the BBC for 16 years, eight of them as a correspondent. He has spent time in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, as well as Gaza.