BOSTON -- The local journalist being held hostage in Iraq spoke for the first time Friday about how his captors have been treating him.

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Ed Harding Reports On Journalist

NewsCenter 5's Ed Harding reported that Micah Garen appeared on Al-Jazeera television and said he was being treated well by his captures, although his location is unknown.

"I am being treated well," Garen said.

Garen's mother lives in Newton, Mass.

A few days ago, five gunmen calling themselves the Martyrs Brigade held a man believed to be Garen captive, and threatened to kill him if U.S. forces didn't withdraw from Najaf, Iraq, by Friday.

A colleague of Garen's was startled by his capture and encouraged by his imminent release.

"Well, obviously, a shock," said Mark Gordeon-James. "We are just doing all we can to smooth his release."

Gordeon-James said every member of the media understands how dangerous working in Iraq is.

"(Garen) certainly he knew the risks, was prepared, he had his flack jacket. But at the end of the day, if you are passionate about covering events in Iraq -- his passion is archeology and the looting of archeological sites in Mesopotamia, sites in central Iraq -- you have to take those risks and it is a balance," said Gordeon-James.

The media is welcomed by radical Shiite Muqtada al-Sadr.

"Al-Sadr realizes the importance of having the international media cover events on the ground down there, it is certainly in his interest to have the media there," said Gordeon-James.

Representatives of al-Sadr say they do not know exactly where Garen is, but they would work to secure his freedom either Friday or Saturday.

On Friday, Garen's stepfather released a statement that read, in part, "All we know is what we see on TV."