Japanese hostage facing death
2004-04-11 15:54
Doha - The captors of three Japanese civilians have threatened to kill one of them within 24 hours if Tokyo does not pull its troops out of Iraq, a self-described Iraqi mediator told al-Jazeera satellite channel on Sunday, citing a statement by "the Iraqi resistance."
The captors are "giving the Japanese government a 24-hour ultimatum, not open to extension, after which they will execute a first" hostage, said Mezher al-Delaimi, who was identified as head of the League for the Defence of Iraqis' Rights.
"The death sentence will be applied to the others 12 hours later" unless Tokyo meets a number of conditions, chiefly to pull its troops out of Iraq, Delaimi said.
- AFP