Family pleads for life of Yemen hostage, a Beloit College grad
PrintMADISON — The family of an American photojournalist taken hostage by al-Qaida in Yemen has posted a video pleading for his captors to spare him.
Luke Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, where he had been working as a freelance photographer for the Yemen Times.
Somers is a 2008 graduate of Beloit College, who earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing.
Al-Qaida posted a video Thursday that showed Somers and a local al-Qaida commander threatening that Somers will meet his fate in three days if the United States doesn't meet the group's demands, which aren't specified.
Somers' brother, Jordan, and mother, Paula, say in their video that Luke Somers respects Yemen's people and isn't responsible for anything the U.S. government has done.
Paula Somers asks her son's captors to "please show mercy and give us an opportunity to see our Luke again."