Islamic militants in Mali release new video of kidnapped Swiss missionary
The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had released a new video of kidnapped Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly to prove that she is still alive.
The video, which lasts two minutes and 17 seconds, was published on Twitter and Telegram on Jan. 10, AFP reported.
Stockly appeared in the clip wearing a black veil and spoke in French with a barely audible voice. She mentioned that the video was recorded on Dec. 31, 2016, and she noted that she has been held captive by the group for 360 days.
She greeted her family and assured them that she is in good health. She also thanked the Swiss government "for all the efforts they have made" to secure her freedom.
Stockly, who is in her 40s, was first kidnapped in Mali in 2012, but she was released by her captors after two weeks. She decided to stay in the country to continue serving as a missionary against the advice of the government.
In January 2016, she was abducted from her house by armed men. AQIM released a video claiming responsibility for her kidnapping and accused her of "attempting to Christianise Muslims."
The group demanded the release of its imprisoned members and one of its leaders, named Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, who is in custody of the International Criminal Court.
The Swiss government called for the missionary's unconditional release.
"We are in a battle to try to keep her alive. Unfortunately, that is not going to be easy. She is a missionary who felt her life and her role was over there." Swiss foreign minister Didier Burkhalter said last January.
Stockly appeared in another video in June 2016, in which she said that she was well, but she could not bear with the heat of the Sahara desert.
According to Swissinfo, Stockly started her work in Africa working with a Germany-based missionary group called Neues Leben Ghana. She went off on her own due to disagreements with the group, which stopped conducting missions to Mali in 2012 for security reasons.
AQIM, which is based in the Sahara Desert in the middle of Mali, Niger, and Algeria, is reportedly responsible for the January attack in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which left 29 people dead.