A video believed to show kidnapped Indian Catholic priest, Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, has been released by his captors on Boxing Day.
In the five minute video, the Salesian priest appeals for greater efforts to help facilitate his release, appealing to Pope Francis directly and saying that his situation would have been taken more seriously if he were from Europe.
“If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously. I am from India. I am perhaps not considered of much value,” he said in the video. He added that his health was deteriorating and that he would soon need hospitalisation.
The video could not be independently verified but The Times of India reported that relatives of the priest had confirmed it was him in the video.
Fr Uzhunnalil was kidnapped from the Yemeni capital of Aden in March this year when militants stormed a retirement home where he worked, killing 15 people including four nuns.
It had been previously claimed he had been crucified after his kidnapping but the report proved false.
