“Foley and Cantlie tried twice (to escape),” said Mr Espinosa, who is believed to have been freed after a ransom was paid by the Spanish government. “The first was a failure before it started. They were caught trying to get off their handcuffs with a skeleton key they made.
“On the second occasion, the American showed his true humanity. After getting out of the room where the prisoners were, he had to wait for Cantlie who was to escape second. The guard saw that Cantlie (had freed himself) and Foley could have tried to escape on his own, but gave himself up. ‘I couldn’t leave John on his own,’ Mr Foley said.”
Mr Espinosa is a journalist with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, which is serialising his account of his kidnapping. As well as Mr Foley, he met a number of other hostages who were later murdered, including the British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and the American soldier-turned aid worker Peter Kassig.
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