SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — A New Jersey man kidnapped and held for several months in Pakistan is home and in good spirits. John Solecki, 49, briefly spoke to reporters at his parents’ home in South Orange.
“It’s great to be home,” he said. “My family and I would like to thank everyone responsible for my release. I’m a little bit tired. I’d like to just rest up with my family, so I’ll leave it at that.”
Asked about returning to his post in Pakistan, Solecki said he would continue his work but wasn’t sure what he’ll do next.
Solecki had been working for the United Nations refugee agency for several years when he was seized Feb. 2 in an ambush that killed his driver. Solecki’s captors had threatened at one point to behead him. He was found April 4 along a dirt road near the Afghan border with his hands and feet bound but unharmed.
