Lawyer held hostage in US
17/1/2006 15:29
A lawyer was held hostage in the southeastern US state of Georgia on
Monday and local authorities were negotiating for his release, local media
reported.
The attorney was held hostage by a couple claiming to have a bomb
in his office in Statesboro, Georgia, and the incident prompted city officials
to cancel a planned parade to mark the Martin Luther King Day.
"The
individuals have indicated that they are very upset with some legal issues from
the recent past and want to get those issues resolved," City Manager George Wood
said in a written statement.
The nature of the legal issues in question was
unclear.
Hostage negotiators were in contact with the couple, who indicated
they had an improvised explosive device, Wood said.
The couple took over the
lawyer's office about 9:15 a.m. local time and let two people leave shortly
afterward, news reports said. Police cordoned off the area around the
office.
Statesboro, a city of 22,000, was about 362 km southeast of Atlanta,
the state capital.
Xinhua News
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