French woman in Yemen freed, Paris says

A French woman who had been held hostage in war-torn Yemen since February is free, the office of French President Francois Hollande announced Thursday night.

Isabelle Prime “will come home in the coming hours,” Hollande’s office said.

Prime was working for an international organization when she was kidnapped along with her Yemeni translator in Sanaa earlier this year.

It wasn’t clear who kidnapped Prime; no person or group claimed responsibility.

The President’s office didn’t say if a ransom was paid or if she had been rescued. It said she was in the hands of French services.

Hollande’s office said it shared the joy of Prime’s family upon news of her freedom.

In June, Prime appeared in a video that was posted to YouTube in which she begged Hollande and Yemen President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to help secure her release.

“Mr. Hollande and Mr. Hadi, my name is Isabelle,” the woman says softly in English. “I’ve been kidnapped 10 weeks ago in Yemen, in Sanaa. Please bring me to France fast because I’m really, really tired. I tried to kill myself several times.”

CNN was unable to verify the authenticity of the video, but the French Foreign Ministry said the woman appeared to be Prime.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke to Prime by phone, he said in a statement.

“I am extremely happy for the release of Isabelle Prime,” the statement read. “We will be delighted to welcome her with President Hollande and his family tonight at the Villacoublay airport…. The release of Isabelle Prime shows once again that France never abandons his people.”

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