After being freed by their kidnappers in Somalia on Wednesday, Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were reunited with family members in neighbouring Kenya.

"Amanda's parents are overjoyed and request continued privacy for the family while they focus on Amanda and her transition back to normal life," said Sarah Geddes, a spokesperson for the Lindhout family. "They will return to Canada as soon as Amanda is fit to fly home."

Brennan and Lindhout were kidnapped near Mogadishu 15 months ago. Somalian National Security Minister Mohamed Abdullahi said the pair flew to Nairobi on a chartered flight Thursday, a day after they were released by their abductors.

The two journalists were quietly whisked through Kenya's Wilson Airport before they could be questioned by members of the press.

Lindhout and Brennan were being held overnight at hospital for standard testing, Canadian freelance reporter Paola Loriggio told CTV News Channel from Nairobi.

"It's a pretty standard medical test that captives go through," Loriggio said Wednesday evening.

In Nairobi, journalists saw a convoy of vehicles, suspected to be carrying Lindhout and Brennan, leave the airport at high speed. Some of the vehicles had diplomatic licence plates.

It is expected that Lindhout will be taken to a Nairobi hotel where her mother and some of Brennan's Australian relatives are staying.

"There is a fairly strong consular presence with the family at all times, so they are well taken care of," Loriggio said.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper released a statement saying that Lindhout's release was a great relief to all Canadians.

"Ms. Lindhout has been through an extremely difficult time; we are thankful that she will soon be reunited with her family and friends," Harper said. "We are ensuring that she receives all available consular support and assistance following her ordeal."

In Australia, the premier of Queensland state, Anna Bligh, said Brennan "has revealed that he had been pistol-whipped and locked in chains for the past 10 months after a failed escape attempt."

"I'm sure that all Queenslanders would join me in offering our heartfelt goodwill to Mr. Brennan and his entire family," Bligh said.

The ordeal

Lindhout and her colleague were released Wednesday after 15 months of captivity. They had been held against their will since Aug. 23, 2008.

The freed Alberta native spoke to CTV News Channel only hours after her release, describing a months-long ordeal that saw her beaten and tortured and forced to live in a room without windows.

"It was extremely oppressive. I was kept by myself at all times. I had no one to speak to. I was normally kept in a room with a light, no window, I had nothing to write on or with. There was very little food. I was allowed to use the toilet exactly five times a day," Lindhout told CTV during a telephone interview from Mogadishu on the day of her release.

"So, basically, my day was sitting on a corner, on the floor, 24 hours a day for the last 15 months. There were times that I was beaten, that I was tortured. It was an extremely, extremely difficult situation."

Prior to leaving Mogadishu on Thursday, the two journalists met with Somalian Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who said they had been held in an area controlled by Islamic insurgents.

"As you were suffering in a part of the capital controlled by the insurgents, we were worried about you in our part of the capital," Sharmarke said in remarks aired on a state-owned radio station. "We could do nothing but negotiate. Your safety was important."

The precise details of Lindhout and Brennan's release are still not clear.

Police spokesperson Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise did not say if a ransom was paid for the journalists' release, though Lindhout said money "was paid by our families." The statement from Harper said that "the Government of Canada was not involved in ransom negotiations."

The exact amount of ransom exchanged for Lindhout and Brennan is also unknown. Late Wednesday, a police officer and a lawmaker told The Associated Press that it was a $700,000 ransom fee. Months ago, the kidnappers had originally requested $1 million.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press