Pirates let yacht couple be together

The British yacht couple seized by Somali pirates have been temporarily reunited after weeks apart, a doctor who treated them said today.

Paul and Rachel Chandler were suffering from severe anxiety brought on by their separation and captivity in war-ravaged Somalia, Dr. Abdi Mohamed Elmi Hangul said.

They were seized from their yacht, the Lynn Rival, in October and have been held apart for most of their captivity. Dr Hangul said the pirates phoned him on yesterday and said the couple had been temporarily reunited.

"The two hostages were in different locations but I advised the guys to reunite the couple, because both of them were worrying about their separation but they now told me that the two people have reunited already," he said.

Dr Hangul treated the Chandlers last month at the invitation of their kidnappers, in the camps where they were being held along the Somali coastline.

"The hostages are suffering from diseases ... Paul was suffering just pain and coughs and (Rachel) Chandler was suffering from mental disorders, especially restlessness, palpitations and she was very anxious, because she was worrying about the separation between her and her husband," he said.

"A new case of eye infection emerged later, (the pirates) informed me by telephone that Paul was taking eye drops, Paul told me that he finished the eye drops," he said. He has not seen the Chandlers since.

A Somali politician last week expressed hope that the couple could be freed without a ransom being paid. But pirates have never so far released a vessel and crew without a payment.

The Chandlers' captors have repeatedly said they will not free the two without a ransom - money the family says it does not have. The British government says it does not pay ransoms to kidnappers.

"I advised the pirates, you have to release these people, they are old, they don't have anything," said Dr Hangul. "I always say that to them but unfortunately they still insist the only option is ransom money."

The Chandlers are highest-profile of more than 130 sailors held captive on the Somali coast.

Experts say the pirate problem is a symptom of Somalia's lawlessness on land. It has not had a functioning government for a generation and the current administration is too focused on fighting an Islamist insurgency to go after the well-armed and well-paid pirates.

The multi-million pound ransoms are one of the few ways to make money in the impoverished country. Attacks doubled between 2008-2009 and are becoming increasingly violent.