Free Alan Johnston

Not that many people will know him, but that bald guy to the right is a colleague of mine. Admittedly I've never worked with him, nor even met him, but by all accounts he's a good bloke, and his own record proclaims that he's a fine broadcaster.

But for those not in the know, for the past month Alan Johnston is thought to have been held captive in Gaza, from where he'd been reporting for the past three years, the only Western reporter to be permanently based in the area. He was widely believed to be a good friend of the people of this disenfranchised stretch of land, so why he should be a target is a mystery to us all.

No one has publicly claimed responsibility for Alan's disappearance, no mention has been made of any kind of ransom or political demand in return for his release. And for the past month, the pleas of the BBC, other international media, governments, diplomats, and most of all his family have all gone unanswered.

He was just a guy doing his job, and he was only three days from coming home to the UK.

I, for one, have a nagging feeling that something may have gone horribly wrong. Bitter experience tells us that when kidnappers have some reason to bargain, there's no shutting them up.

Yet we have to hope. Which is why that picture of Alan Johnston will stay where it is until his safe release.

Not that I expect it to make the difference, but if anyone wants to swipe it for their own site and join the call for his freedom, then I urge them to do so.

Please help us get Alan back.