The father of a girl who was rescued in January after more than nine years in captivity addressed reporters on Friday and put into words the human side of a tragedy that has turned into one of the country's biggest controversies.
"What I can do for her now is to firmly embrace her," the father said. "When I recall my daughter, who was cheerful and full of pep before the abduction, I am full of sorrow as a parent."
Occasionally choking on his words, the father at times struggled to read his written statement.
It was the first time for the man, whose name is being withheld, to face reporters since the girl, now 19, was discovered Jan. 28 by health officials called to her abductor's house by his elderly mother.