Kidnapped politician freed in Mexico - report

Prominent Mexican politican Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, who was kidnapped more than six months ago, is reported to have been released.

He is "safe and sound" at home after being freed on Friday night, Mexican daily paper El Universal said, quoting family members.

Mr Fernandez de Cevallos, 69, was seized in May.

However doubt has been cast on his reported release by some government figures and another newspaper.

Reuters news agency said officials at the Attorney General's office could not immediately confirm the Universal report and another paper, Mileno, dismissed the report as wrong.

Earlier, a family member told El Universal: "Everything is fine, he is OK and everything came out well."

The newspaper reported that the family had paid a ransom of around $20m, although they did not confirm this.

Mr Fernandez de Cevallos served as a senator and congressman while also pursuing a successful career as a lawyer, winning some of the country's biggest court judgements, often in suits against government agencies.

He was the 1994 presidential candidate of the governing National Action Party, finishing second to Ernesto Zedillo.

Correspondents say kidnapping is rife in Mexico, which is in the grip of a battle between the security forces and drug cartels.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in drug-related violence since the election of President Felipe Calderon in 2006.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk