Kevin King, a 60-year-old American citizen who was a teacher at the American University in Kabul, is currently a Taliban prisoner. He appeared in a new video with Timothy Weeks, his 48-year-old Australian colleague, appealing to President Trump to “Have mercy on me and get me out.”
The two were taken hostage on Aug. 7, 2016 by Taliban terrorists in Kabul.
Weeks and King have asked that Trump and Prime Minister Turnbull trade Taliban prisoners in exchange for their freedom, and further asked that they “do not send any commandos,” Breitbart reports.
Weeks begged that anyone who watches the video plead with the government so that he can be released from captivity.
“The only way for me to go home is for the Australian Prime Minister to speak to the Taliban government and negotiate with the Taliban government and work on freeing the prisoners — the Taliban soldiers — who are currently held at at Bagram air field and at Pul-e-Charkhi prison,” Weeks specified for viewers.
In what is clearly a proof-of-life propaganda video, Weeks said, “I ask you please to urge the Australian Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull to address this issue and to speak with the American president, President Trump, so they may address this issue and come to an agreement with the Taliban so we can be taken out of here. Help me, please.”
While the authenticity of this second video is yet to be independently verified, it does closely resemble the first video in which the two men appear to be distressed and said that if a prisoner exchange is refused they will be killed.
In this second video the two men appear to be in better physical condition, however King looks worn down and frail from his time as a captive. Several times he struggles to continue speaking. Both men asserted that they are being treated well, “as guests.”
Last September, Navy SEALs attempted to rescue the two men, however neither were in the target location, according to the Pentagon.