The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and a leading member of the Muslim community in Ireland yesterday issued a joint appeal for the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist seized at gunpoint in Gaza more than seven weeks ago.
Information on Johnston's fate and whereabouts has been scant since he was abducted after leaving his office in Gaza city on March 12th.
His kidnapping has provoked widespread international condemnation. Last week the European Parliament urged the Palestinian government to do everything in its power to secure the reporter's release.
In a joint statement issued to mark World Press Freedom Day, Dr Diarmuid Martin and Sheikh Hussein Halawa, chairman of the Irish Council of Imams, called for Johnston's immediate release.
"It is not right to keep a person like Alan against his will and we come together in solidarity with all those who have called for his release," the statement read.
"Abducting a reporter can never help a cause . . . It can only harm the real interests of the Palestinian people. In the pursuit of peace and freedom, values treasured by each of our religions, we plead with his captors to let Alan Johnston go."
Sheikh Halawa, who is Imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, said the abduction was contrary to Islamic teachings.
"Alan's mission was to convey the suffering of the Palestinians. Detaining Alan does not serve the Palestinian issue and contradicts the principles of Islam," he said.
The event was organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and followed an NUJ vigil outside the office of the Palestinian delegation in Dublin last month.