Our car was driving slowly ... the Americans fired without motive.

These people don't want foreigners here, nobody should come to Iraq at this time. Not even journalists. Nobody.

kept on talking and talking, you couldn't contain him, an avalanche of friendly phrases and jokes. I finally felt an almost physical consolation, warmth that I had forgotten for some time.

It wasn't a checkpoint, but a patrol that shot as soon [as] they lit us up with a spotlight. We didn't know where the bullets were coming from. We had not met other checkpoints before. Our car was absolutely not traveling at high speed.

Do you know in what conditions such video are made? Do you think I was free to say what I wanted? To be a hostage means one is not free to talk freely in a video. Yes, they gave me food, drink and medicine, but I was captive, without light, without nothing. But do you think I was free to say the kidnappers didn't treat me well?

It wasn't a checkpoint but a patrol which immediately opened fire after they trained their light on us.