Diane Foley

The Kidnapping and Murder of James Foley - 19.08.2014

James Foley was a freelance journalist and war correspondant covering conflicts throughout the Middle East at the time of his kidnapping by ISIS Fighters on 22nd November 2012. Growing up in New Hampshire as the oldest of five children, James passionately entered the career of conflict journalism in order to shine a light on the disadvantaged and poor; throughout his career, he reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria, for both GlobalPost and Stars and Stripes, and in 2011 he was detained by Colonel Gaddafi’s regime for 44 Days before being released. In November 2012, James was abducted whilst leaving an internet cafe in northwest Syria and from there on his whereabouts were largely unknown until the release of a video by ISIS showing his execution in August 19th 2014.

Just under a month following James’ murder, his mother, Diane, launched the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation in order to enshrine in James’ memory several initiatives focused around hostage advocacy and journalist safety, campaigning for the safe return of all Americans held against their will abroad and producing curriculum to schools training aspiring journalists. You can read more about their work by navigating to their site via the logo below.