Shirley Sotloff, the mother of American journalist Steven Sotloff who is being held by Islamic rebels in Syria, makes a direct appeal to his captors to release him in this still image from a video
Reuters/Boston
The mother of an American journalist held captive by militant group Islamic State released a video on Wednesday appealing directly to the group's leader for his release.
"I am sending this message to you, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Quraishi al-Hussaini, the caliph of the Islamic State. I am Shirley Sotloff. My son Steven is in your hands," Sotloff said in the video, obtained by the New York Times.
"I ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the Prophet Mohammed, who protected people of The Book (Christians and Jews)," she said. She added that her son is an "honorable man and has always tried to help the weak."
Sotloff, 31, went missing in Syria last year while covering the conflict there. Islamic State released of video last week in which he could be seen kneeling following the filmed decapitation of fellow journalist James Foley.
Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in territory it has captured in Syria and Iraq, threatened to kill Sotloff if its demands, which include halting American air strikes against the group, are not met.
"As a mother I ask your justice to be merciful and not to punish my son for matters he has no control over," she said. "I want what every mother wants: to live to see her children's children. I plead with you to grant me this."