$1.5m ransom demand for SA photojournalist
Captors contact Gift of the Givers saying deal must be concluded urgently
SOUTH African photojournalist Shiraaz Mahomed’s captors are demanding a $1.5million (R21.5m) ransom for him, aid organisation Gift of the Givers said on Saturday.
Following the proof of life video that Gift of the Givers received from Mahomed’s captors in Syria on Friday, April26, they called this week to start negotiations on the way forward, Gift of the Givers’ Imtiaz Sooliman said in a statement.
Gift of the Givers had made it clear that the ransom demand was not possible, stating that Mahomed’s family did not have the means, nor was he the employee of a large corporate company that could help with payment, and the South African government would not pay.
They said they were “giving us time to consider our options”, Sooliman said.
“In a subsequent conversation we said the figure was too high. They said it was negotiable. They called again on Thursday evening; they seemed anxious and said they needed to conclude this deal urgently.
The Russians were bombing south Idlib and north Hama very aggressively, and they were afraid that Shiraaz could be killed in the bombing.
“We went to Shiraaz’s family on Saturday to explain this new development and possible consequences. This is exactly what Shiraaz was afraid of in the video, where he makes a plea for help to secure his release.
“Our hospital in Syria has confirmed that the bombing has increased substantially, that the medical administration in Idlib has asked Gift of the Givers Ar Rahma Hospital to be one of the facilities to be on standby to receive patients from a distance of 70km. We received the first two patients on Friday.
“We are currently engaging religious leaders to provide letters requesting the unconditional release of Shiraaz immediately to prevent a tragedy. We lost Pierre Korkie on the day that his release was secured, Stephen McGown’s mother passed on one month before Stephen was released, we certainly don’t want to live through another such incident,” Sooliman said.
Mohamed was abducted in Syria early in 2017. |