http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/08/sotloffs-mother-makes-video-plea-to-isil-194536.html?hp=l10 By HADAS GOLD |
8/27/14 11:30 AM EDT
The mother of an American journalist being held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant made a direct plea on Wednesday to the leader of the Islamic militant group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Shirley Sotloff, mother of the American journalist Steven Sotloff appealed to al-Baghdadi to let her son go, saying he has no control over what the American government does.
“Steven is a journalist who traveled to the Middle East to cover the suffering of Muslims at the hands of tyrants,” Sotloff said in a video broadcast on Al-Arabiya network. “He’s an honorable man and he’s always tried to help the weak.”
Sotloff was taken hostage last year in Syria and was featured at the end of a video released last week showing ISIL militant beheading American journalist James Foley. The militants in the video warn Sotloff will be next if the United States continues its military operation against ISIL in the Middle East.
Sotloff’s mother said that since her son’s capture, she’s studied Islam and learned it teaches that “no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others.”
“Steven has no control over the actions of the U.S. government. He’s an innocent journalist,” she said. “I’ve learned that you the caliph can grant amnesty. I ask you to please release my child. As a mother, I ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. I ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the Prophet Muhammad, who protected the People of the Book.”
