Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday expressed outrage and demanded that Islamic State (IS) extremists release a Japanese journalist, as secret talks in Jordan sought the release of the Japanese and a Jordanian pilot also being held hostage.
The effort to free Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian Lt. Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh gained urgency with the release of an apparent ultimatum late on Tuesday from the IS.
In the message, the extremists say the two hostages would be killed within 24 hours late on Wednesday night unless Jordan frees Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death in Jordan for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack on a hotel that killed 60 people.
“This was an extremely despicable act and we feel strong indignation. We strongly condemn that,” Mr. Abe said. “While this is a tough situation, we remain unchanged in our stance of seeking help from the Jordanian government in securing the early release of Mr. Goto.”
In Jordan, the pilot’s father, Safi al-Kaseasbeh, beseeched the government “to meet the demands” of the IS.
“All people must know, from the head of the regime to everybody else, that the safety of Mu’ath means the stability of Jordan, and the death of Mu’ath means chaos in Jordan,” he told the Associated Press .
About 200 of the pilot’s relatives protested outside the Prime Minister’s office in the Jordanian capital of Amman, chanting anti-government slogans and urging that it meet the captors’ demands.
Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama was in Amman to coordinate hostage-release efforts with Jordan, but refused comment on details of the talks on Wednesday.
