Another video, received by Gift of the Givers, shows kidnapped South African medic Gerco van Deventer in Mali pleading for help.
The humanitarian aid organisation, which received the video on 26 May, the day it was recorded, is in discussions with intermediaries to release Van Deventer unconditionally,
Van Deventer has been held captive since 3 November 2017, reports News24.
In the video, Van Deventer pleads for assistance to gain his freedom. “I am … requesting urgent help … to facilitate and activate any action leading to my release. I don't know of my family’s whereabouts or their well-being. … help me build a bridge to the outside world, to gain what was taken from me, my freedom and liberty," said Van Deventer, a father of three who was in Libya on a contract as a paramedic when he was kidnapped on 3 November 2017.
Gift of the Givers chairperson and founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said their negotiator, Mohamed Yehia Dicko, had received the video from intermediaries who had received it directly from al-Qaeda. He was in discussions to influence the captors to release Van Deventer unconditionally.
“We pray and hope for the best. On 3 June, Van Deventer will have been in captivity for five years and seven months,” he said.
The captors had requested a ransom of around R9.5m for the medic’s release, but Sooliman said they were willing to reach a settlement.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Gift of the Givers to negotiate kidnapped paramedic’s release
Fears mount for safety of SA doctor missing in Syria
Kidnapped Eastern Cape biokineticist back home