Proof of life: Weinstein allegedly appears in al Qaeda video

Video of the US contractor could not be verified.

WASHINGTON:

The US State Department is working to authenticate a video showing a US contractor held by al Qaeda militants in what could the first sign since 2012 that he is alive, according to the Washington Post.

The 13-minute video, which the Post said was sent anonymously by email to several journalists who have reported from Afghanistan, shows a bearded Warren Weinstein wearing a gray tracksuit and black cap against a dark background. It is unclear when the video was made. It features the yellow logo of al Qaeda’s media unit As-Sahab. The Post also did not specify when the email was received. The video was accompanied by a letter, purportedly handwritten by Weinstein but also not authenticated, that was dated October 3.

In the message, Weinstein urges President Obama’s administration to negotiate with the al Qaeda militants who abducted him in Lahore more than two years ago.

“I am not in good health. I have a heart condition. I suffer from acute asthma...Needless to say I’ve been suffering deep anxiety every part of every day,” he said. “Mr President, for the majority of my adult life, for over 30 years I’ve served my country [...] Now when I need my government it seems that I have been totally abandoned and forgotten.”

The 72-year-old development expert called on Obama to renew efforts for his release and consider freeing unspecified al Qaeda militants in US custody so his captors could allow him to receive a family visit. If confirmed, the video appeal would be the third by Weinstein since he was taken captive in August 2011. He had been working as a consultant for the firm JE Austin Associates Inc, a contractor for the US Agency for International Development.

In his last video statement, released in September 2012, Weinstein appealed to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “as one Jew to another” to help secure his release. US State Department officials were not immediately available for comment. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2013.