'Please help me. This is my last chance': Japanese journalist held hostage by Al Qaeda begs his government to save him a year after he was captured in Syria
A Japanese journalist captured by Al Qaeda in Syria has appeared in a new photograph begging his government to save him.
The picture, apparently posted online yesterday, showed a bearded Jumpei Yasuda dressed in orange holding a hand-written sign in Japanese.
The message, written in shaky characters and signed with his name, read: 'Please help me. This is my last chance'.
The Japanese government said today it was doing all it could to secure his release.
Yasuda's plight came to world attention in March when a video surfaced showing him reading a message to his country and his family.
Japanese media said he was captured by Al Qaeda affiliate, the Nusra Front, after entering Syria from Turkey last June.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the government was analysing the new photograph and believed it was Yasuda.
Chief Cabinet Spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the government was doing what it could to help, adding: 'Since preserving the safety of Japanese citizens is our most important duty, we are making use of a broad net of information and doing everything we can to respond.'
Asked if this meant
Early in 2015, ISIS beheaded two Japanese nationals: a self-styled security consultant and a veteran war reporter.
The gruesome executions captured the attention of Japan, but the government said at the time it would not negotiate with the militants for their release.
Yasuda, a freelance journalist since 2003, was held in Baghdad in 2004 and drew criticism for drawing the Japanese government into negotiations for his release.In December, media freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders retracted and apologised for a report it had issued that said Yasuda had been threatened with execution in Syria.
The government said at the time it was seeking information.
No comments:
Post a Comment