This week on Foreign Correspondent, reporter Jonathan Holmes presents an exclusive interview with Dr. Ken Elliott, an Australian doctor who was held captive by Al Qaeda in the harsh Saharan desert for over seven years. Dr. Elliott and his wife, Jocelyn, were kidnapped from Burkina Faso in West Africa in January 2016, where they had been providing lifesaving surgery at a hospital they ran.
While Jocelyn was released after three weeks, Dr. Elliott endured brutal conditions during his captivity. Now, at the age of 88, he has been quietly released, and together with his wife, they have decided to share their extraordinary story.
Jonathan Holmes has been following the case since the Elliotts were taken and, in 2016, travelled with a military escort to the remote town of Djibo in Burkina Faso, where the couple had lived and worked for over 40 years.
Days before the initial scheduled broadcast of this report, concerns for Dr. Elliott’s safety prevented it from airing. Now, Foreign Correspondent is able to bring audiences their story of resilience, hope, faith, and survival against incredible odds.
Foreign Correspondent airs Thursday, 29 August at 8.00 pm on ABC Australia and ABC iview.
