Pirates release Danish family from 'horrible ordeal'

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Danish yachting family held hostage by Somali pirates for more than six months has been released and is returning home after enduring "the most horrible ordeal one can imagine," government officials said.

Jan Quist Johansen, his wife Birgit Marie and their three teenage children were captured along with two Danish crew members on Feb. 24 as their 43-foot (13-meter) yacht was seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean.

All seven "were released Tuesday and are doing well under the circumstances. They are in a plane on their way to Denmark," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Slente said.

She declined to comment further on the circumstances of the release and wouldn't say whether a ransom had been paid.

The Johansens, from Kalundborg, 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Copenhagen, were on a round-the-world journey when they approached the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa. Their travel blog showed they were aware of the dangers but didn't expect to get into trouble, and were comforted by the sight of anti-piracy forces patrolling the vast area.

News of their release was met with relief in their home town.

"The family very likely is aware that what they did was not so fortunate. They certainly feel pretty bad about it now," said Ole Meridin Petersen, chairman of the Kalundborg yacht club, in which Jan Quist Johansen was a member.

Hostages are held in hot, austere conditions in Somalia — typically for many months — before a ransom is agreed on and paid, and the hijacked ships and crew are released. Last year, a British sailing couple were released after 388 days in captivity. Reports indicated that a ransom in the region of $1 million was paid for their release.

Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen told Danish news agency Ritzau that Denmark doesn't pay ransom "as a matter of principle," adding it was the family, not the Foreign Ministry, that had been negotiating with the pirates. The family was "advised by professional negotiators," she said.

Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said negotiations carried on for "a long period" before the hostages were freed.

"I am really happy on behalf of the family, which since Feb. 24 has been through the most horrible ordeal one can imagine," Loekke Rasmussen said. "It is important that we now give the family quiet and peace."

The Foreign Ministry said two Danes and four Filipinos from Danish cargo ship M/V Leopard are still being held by Somali pirates after the vessel was attacked off Somalia on Jan. 12, 2011.

Somalia hasn't had a functioning government since 1991, one of the reasons the piracy trade has flourished.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Jennifer Aniston, A Sex-Crazed Doctor in ‘Horrible Bosses’

America’s sweetheart Jennifer Aniston goes against type as she plays certified man-eater Dr. Julia Harris who relentlessly makes X-rated advances to her dental assistant Dale (Charlie Day) in New Line Cinema’s edgy comedy “Horrible Bosses.”

In the film, Dale, who’s engaged to be married to his beloved fiancée, has been struggling to maintain his self-respect against the sexual harassment from Dr. Harris when she suddenly turns up the heat. The only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable for Dale and his two friends Nick (Jason Bateman) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) – who both suffer evil employers, too — would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers…permanently. There’s only one problem: even the best laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.

“I’ve never played a character so inexcusably raunchy and there was no way I could resist it — the dialogue and the situations are so outrageous and fun. I jumped at it immediately,” says Aniston, who calls the movie “a guilty pleasure for people unhappy in their jobs, to maybe go and get it out of their system by rooting for these guys.

“It really stretches the limits and crosses boundaries and Dr. Harris is way out in front on all counts: guilty as charged,” she adds.

“What I love about the character is how masculine she is in her sexual appetite. As Jennifer and I discussed in rehearsals, Dr. Harris is a predator, like a lion. They don’t feel one way or another, they just have to feed,” says director Seth Gordon. “It was really important to find an actress who could play Julia with all the intensity and delicious naughtiness the role deserves, and I thought it would be even better if it was someone audiences wouldn’t expect. This is radically different from any role her fans have ever seen her in before and she just kills; you have to see it to believe it. It’s electrifying to hear her deliver this dialogue. She’s absolutely fearless and hilarious.”

Aniston previously starred with Jason Sudeikis in “The Bounty Hunter” and with Jason Bateman in last year’s romantic comedy “The Switch,” but met Charlie Day for the first time on “Horrible Bosses.” Recalling the potentially awkward scenario of their first scene together, she says, “Within 20 minutes, I was straddling him in lingerie. But Seth never stopped laughing and we were all in perfect sync; if anything, after every take we’d be thinking, ‘let’s push it a little further.’ I was bizarrely comfortable in these scenes, almost more so than I would be playing the normal girl-next-door, and every scene was kind of crazy but that was really the fun of it.”

Opening across the Philippines on Sept. 21, “Horrible Bosses” is a New Line Cinema distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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