Fr Tom UzhunnalilThiruvananthapuram: Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was freed after being kept in captivity suspectedly by ISIS for 18 months in strife-torn Yemen, called on governor P. Sathasivam at the Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday.
Uzhunnalil personally expressed his gratitude for the governor's intervention in ensuring his release, a Raj Bhavan release said.
Uzhunnalil's relatives along with former chief minister Oommen Chandy had submitted an appeal to the governor for intervention in the case on May 31, 2017 and governor had forwarded the petition to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, the release said.
Earlier in the day, he met Catholic Bishops Conference of India president Mar Baselios Cleemis Catholicos and church leaders in the state.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Oommen Chandy were among those who attended a public reception accorded to him at the Mar Ivanios College auditorium.
Uzhunnailil thanked all those who prayed for his release.
The priest belongs to the Congregation of Salesians of Don Bosco and was abducted reportedly during a terrorist attack in Aden and taken to an undisclosed place.
The 59-year-old Catholic priest had returned to Delhi on September 28 after rest and recuperation in the Vatican City.
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