A French aid worker who sparked outrage after returning to Mali, where she had been held hostage for four years, is not taking any risks, her son said Sunday.
Sophie Petronin, 76, was criticised by the French government earlier this month for her "irresponsibility" after travelling back to Mali, where she had been held as a hostage until last year.
But her son, Sebastien Chadaud-Petronin, told Swiss television Sunday that his mother was living safely in Mali's capital Bamako, far from any conflict zones.
"I don't have the impression that she is taking any risk at all," Chadaud-Petronin, who had accompanied his mother back to Mali, told the Mis au Point programme on RTS.
"She lives in Bamako like 8,000 other French citizens, and has a full security protocol. She is discreet, she is not bothering anyone, she doesn't leave her apartment," he said.
"I think we can allow her to complete her life the way she wants to."
Petronin was taken by gunmen in December 2016 in the northern Malian city of Gao and held by what are believed to be Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants.
She was freed in October last year, along with leading Malian opposition figure Soumaila Cisse and two other hostages, reportedly in exchange for the release of more than 200 convicted or alleged jihadists by the Mali authorities.
The ordeal and eventual release of Petronin, who was the last remaining French hostage in the world at the time, became national news, with President Emmanuel Macron himself welcoming her home as she touched down in France.
But she reportedly returned to Mali about seven months ago, entering the country illegally after her request for a visa was rejected.
The French government confirmed in early November that Petronin was back in Mali, spokesman Gabriel Attal telling reporters she was compromising her own security as well as that of France's military personnel.