JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: A French journalist is emerging from Afghanistan with an insider's view of the Taliban's iron-fisted rule. The reporter crossed to freedom inside Pakistan last night after spending nearly four weeks jailed as a suspected spy. CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon has that story.</s>REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Freedom after nearly a month in a Taliban jail. At the Pakistan border, French journalist Michel Peyrard was handed over to the French ambassador. He says he was not abused.</s>MICHEL PEYRARD, FRENCH JOURNALIST: I was very confident, you know. I used to work in Afghanistan. I</s>MACKINNON: Peyrard, who works for "Paris Match" magazine, was caught by the Taliban soon after entering Afghanistan dressed as an Afghan woman, fully veiled from head to toe.</s>PEYRARD: I was wearing a</s>MACKINNON: Peyrard was taken to a prison in Jalalabad. The Afghan inmates reflected the Taliban's fear of its enemies inside Afghanistan.</s>PEYRARD: Interesting experience. But so far we were with -- with political detainees, and I had the opportunity to make some interviews with them. There are many -- many people arrested in Jalalabad. Most of all, the last -- the last few days.</s>MACKINNON: Why did the Taliban think he was a spy?</s>PEYRARD: I think that the main problem was that I had a slight accent. I think that three weeks ago they organized, as you probably know, a trip for journalists in Jalalabad. And these people were using satellite phone, of course. So I think that they understood at this moment that a satellite phone is quite normal for a journalist.</s>MACKINNON: That revelation, plus pressure from the French government and his employer, finally brought about his release. Two Pakistani journalists and a Japanese journalist remain in Taliban custody. Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Peshawar, Pakistan.
French Journalist Released From Taliban Jail