Ronaldo begs for hostage
2005-01-27 14:16
Rio de Janeiro - Brazilian football star Ronaldo has recorded a message seeking the release of a fellow countryman - Joao Jose Vasconcelos - who was kidnapped by an armed Islamist group in Iraq last week, the hostage's brother said on Wednesday.
The 2002 World Cup winner's message, recorded at the request of Vasconcelos' family, urges the kidnappers to free the engineer, according to the hostage's brother, Luis Henrique de Vasconcelos.
The recording by Ronaldo, who plays for Real Madrid, will be translated into Arabic and sent to television stations in the Middle East in a bid to help gain Vasconcelos' liberation, his brother told reporters here.
The family also recorded a message asking the kidnappers to show clemency and release Vasconcelos.
The 50-year-old engineer had been working for Brazilian construction company Norberto Odebrecht when he was kidnapped by the group, which calls itself the "Mujahedeen Squadrons." - AFP
- SAPA