Journalist kidnapped in Yemen pleads for intervention

A video showing Dutch journalist Judith Spiegel, who works for Belgian channel VRT, and her companion Boudewijn Berendsen has appeared on Facebook. They were kidnapped in Yemen by armed men at the beginning of June. In the video, the journalist appeals to the Netherlands, urging them to intervene. She says they will both be killed if no solution is found within ten days. Shortly after their kidnapping, the two hostages were able to make contact with the Dutch ambassador to Yemen, but "nothing has happened so far". They want the government, the embassy and the media to intervene. "Accept their terms. Do something; if you don’t, we will be killed, " the reporter says. Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans responded Monday night on his own Facebook page, stating that the country’s authorities were giving the kidnapping  their "full attention". The video was posted on YouTube on Saturday before ending up on Facebook. Judith Spiegel was working for several media in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital.