British hostage in Chechnya describes ordeal .
LONDON 1996-08-24
A British aid worker , held hostage in Chechnya for nearly four weeks , said on Saturday a cocked Kalashnikov had been thrust into his mouth at one point during his ordeal .
Michael Penrose , a 23-year-old worker with the group Action Against Hunger , described his ordeal to a news conference when he arrived back in Britain from Moscow .
" The worst period of physical manhandling was during that time when we were beaten with Kalashnikovs and at one point I had a Kalashnikov held to the back of my throat -- cocked , " he said .
" For the first period we were held in a small room with no bed or anything .
We had very little food and sometimes went two or three days without eating . "
Gunmen seized Penrose , who comes from Swerford in southern England , Frenchman Frederic Malardeau and six other hostages from their car in Grozny , the capital of Chechnya , on July 27 .
The assailants had demanded a ransom of 300,000 pounds ( $ 465,000 ) but no money was paid by the charity when they were released on Wednesday .
The hostages were held in a house in or near Grozny which was bombarded regularly .
" During the last 15 days of being held , the fighting in Grozny was very close .
At first it was street fighting outside the house and then we came under very heavy shelling and bombardment from conventional weapons like tanks , artillery and grenade launchers , " he said .
Penrose had been working for the charity which provides food to civilians for only a few weeks before he was captured .
When asked if he would return to the mountainous region where rebels have been fighting Russian troops for full independence , Penrose said : " Not for the time being .
I do n't think it 's safe for me .
But maybe in the future , depending on the circumstances . "