Mother of U.S. journalist held by Islamic militants pleads for his release

MIAMI – The mother of an American journalist held hostage and threatened with death by Islamic militants is pleading for his release in a video aimed directly at his captors.

Shirley Sotloff, who lives in the Miami area, addressed the leader of the Islamic State in seeking the return of 31-year-old Steven Sotloff. Shirley Sotloff says her son shouldn’t pay for U.S. government actions in the Middle East and that as a journalist he cared about the weak and oppressed.

The video was aired on the Al-Arabiya television network.

Sotloff was last seen in August 2013 in Syria. He was threatened with death by the militants on a video unless the U.S. stopped air strikes on the group. The same video showed the beheading of fellow American journalist James Foley.