A year after being kidnapped by Islamic extremists, Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly appeared in a video saying she is in "good health" despite her current situation.
The 2.17-minute video was released by the Sahara division of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on Tuesday, according to the Middle East Monitor.
Stockly wore a black veil in the video and spoke in French. Her voice was barely audible, but she was able to say that the date of the recording is late December. She narrated her captivity by the AQIM for 360 days, and extended her greetings to her family. Stockly also thanked the Swiss government "for all the efforts they have made."
"I am in good health," she added.
The missionary was kidnapped back in January 2016. The AQIM claimed responsibility for this, saying they will only free Stockly in exchange for the release of a number of Al-Qaeda militants jailed in Mali, according to the Gospel Herald. They also demanded the release of one of their leaders held in The Hague.
However, the Swiss government rejected the kidnappers' offer and demanded that they release Stockly without any precondition.
The video was the third one released by the terrorist group since Stockly was first abducted in Mali's northern city of Timbuktu. Armed men knocked at her home and then took her by force after she opened the door.
The second video was released sometime last June to prove that she is still alive. "Beatrice Stockly is a Swiss nun who declared war against Islam in her attempt to Christianise Muslims," the speaker said in the second video.
Stockly began her missionary work in Africa after seeing an advertisement in 2002 placed by an evangelical Christian pastor. The pastor led a German-based missionary group called Neues Leben Ghana, or "New Life Ghana," and took Stockly to Mali. She was abducted earlier in 2012, but was freed by the jihadists after just two weeks.
