A US$1.5 million (R21.5 million) ransom has been requested by the captors of photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed to secure his release.

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said the ransom demand came following the proof of life video that the organisation received from Shiraaz’s captors in Syria on April 26.

“They called this week to commence negotiations on the way forward. The demand for Shiraaz’s release is $1.5 million. We made it clear that this was not possible. We stated that Shiraaz’s family does not have the means, nor is Shiraaz the employee of a large corporate company that could assist with payment and the South African government will not pay. They said they [are] giving us time to consider options.”

Source: Duta news