A video released by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on Tuesday shows a new proof of life of the Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly who is being held captive in Mali.
The two minute, 17 second video shows a woman – head covered by a black veil – who identifies herself as Stockly.
Speaking in French, with a weary, barely audible voice and her face blurred out, she greets her family and thanks the Swiss government “for all the efforts they have made”.
“I am in good health,” she adds.
The video was allegedly recorded on 31st December, 2016. It’s the third footage released by AQIM since her kidnap in Mali’s northern city of Timbuktu a year ago.
In late January, 2016, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility in a video for Stockly’s kidnapping, which it said took place on 7th January.
The group said it would free her in exchange for a number of Al-Qaeda militants jailed in Mali and one of their leaders held in The Hague.
Switzerland has demanded her release without conditions.
AQIM released a second similar video in mid-June to prove she was still alive.
Stockly, who is in her 40s, is a Christian missionary who was previously abducted by jihadists in northern Mali’s Timbuktu in 2012. On that occasion, she was freed about two weeks later, and opted to keep living in Mali.
