CARDIFF, Wales, May 27 (UPI) -- BBC reporter Alan Johnston is alive and could be released soon, a Palestinian government spokesman said in Cardiff, Wales.
"I know that he is well and healthy. No one has tried to harm him or hurt him," said Ghazi Hamad, who attended the Hay literary festival in Wales.
Hamad, a member of Hamas, told the BBC he was involved in trying to free Johnston, 45, who was kidnapped March 12 in Gaza on his way home from work.
"I think there are continuous efforts to release him. We hope we can do it very, very soon," Hamad said, adding that he knows who is holding Johnston.
Since Johnston's kidnapping, Palestinian officials have frequently reported he is well and about to be released, the BBC said.
The kidnapping of Johnston, the only Western reporter permanently based in Gaza, has sparked appeals for his release from around the world.
More than 100,000 people have signed an online BBC petition calling for his release and Johnston this month was named broadcast journalist of the year by the London Press Club.
