DHAKA: A South African teacher being held hostage in Yemen and whose kidnappers had threatened to kill him is still alive but in poor health.

An organisation working to free him said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.

English teacher Pierre Korkie, 56, was abducted along with his wife last May in the Yemeni city of Taiz by members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who asked for a ransom of US$3 million and had threatened to kill him if not paid by Friday.

‘They said he’s still alive, and we will stop the execution,’ said Imtiaz Sooliman, president of the Gift of the Givers charity.

‘Then, on their own, they said, but Pierre is not in very good health.’

Sooliman said the kidnappers had agreed to extend their deadline by three weeks.

BDST: 2103 HRS, JAN 18, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor