LONDON — A British journalist freed after being held by the Taliban militia described in an article published Tuesday how she went on a hunger strike during her 10 days in detention and huddled in her cell as military strikes pounded the city of Kabul.
Yvonne Ridley, a reporter for the Sunday Express, was arrested with two Afghan guides and imprisoned for sneaking into Afghanistan illegally. She was handed over at Afghanistan's border with Pakistan late Monday.
Writing for her newspaper's sister publication, the Daily Express, Ridley said she'd stopped eating after being refused access to a phone.
"Hunger strike was the only weapon I had. I thought I was going to die. I was very, very scared," she wrote.
Ridley, who was apprehended on Sept. 28, described Sunday night's airstrikes on Kabul. "When the attacks started I was lying in bed and it was like fireworks being set off. I could clearly see tracers going up," she said.
Days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Taliban had ordered all foreign reporters to leave the country. Taliban authorities accused Ridley, 43, of being a spy.
"I admitted going in without a visa," wrote Ridley, defending her illegal entry into Afghanistan. "It was not a silly stunt. I was trying to find out what Afghans thought about the situation."
Martin Townsend, editor of the Sunday Express, said, "We are delighted to hear that Yvonne is safe in Pakistan, although we won't be celebrating until she is back safe on British soil."
Ridley said she had been held in a cell with six of the eight international aid workers accused of trying to convert Afghans to Christianity, a serious crime under the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law. Two Americans, two Australians and four Germans are among those still being held.
"Those women just had a tremendous inner strength," Ridley wrote.
The Taliban, who control almost all of Afghanistan, offered Saturday to release the eight aid workers if the United States stopped threatening to attack.
The White House rejected the offer and demanded the Taliban unconditionally hand over top terror suspect Osama bin Laden and the aid workers.