French President Francois Hollande (R) and former hostage Serge Lazarevic hug each other after delivering speeches at the Villacoublay military airport, near Paris, December 10, 2014. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
DAKAR (Reuters) - Mali freed four Islamist militants with ties to al Qaeda in north Africa in exchange for the release of Serge Lazarevic, a French national who was being held by the group, Mali's justice minister said on Friday.
"Mali cannot deny that it freed them because it is a fact. Everyone knows, it serves no purpose to hide it, but Mali did it under a precise framework," Mohamed Ali Bathily, told French television channel France24.
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