Jordan offered yesterday to hand over an Iraqi woman on death row for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack if a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State is freed.
Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani made no mention of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, a veteran war reporter who is also being held by the insurgent group.
“Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh is released and his life spared,” al-Momani was quoted as saying on state television.
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh later said on his official Twitter account that a Jordanian request for proof that Kasaesbeh was safe and well had gone unanswered.
The pilot was captured after his jet crashed in northeastern Syria in December during a bombing mission against Islamic State, which has captured large tracts of Syria and Iraq.
Jordanian government spokesman makes no mention of Japanese hostage
His fate was thought to be tied to that of Goto after a video was released on Tuesday purporting to show the Japanese national saying he had 24 hours to live unless Jordan released al-Rishawi. The voice on the video said Kasaesbeh had a shorter time to live. Japan confirmed the existence of the video at 11pm on Tuesday.
Al-Momani said Jordan’s priority was to secure the release of the pilot, who hails from an important Jordanian tribe that forms the backbone of support for the Hashemite monarchy.
Several hundred people, including Kasaesbeh’s relatives, gathered in front of the office of Jordan’s Prime Minister on Tuesday, urging authorities to meet Islamic State’s demands.
Al-Rishawi has been held in Jordan over her role in a suicide bombing that killed 60 people in the capital Amman.
The hostage-taking presents Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with his biggest diplomatic crisis since he took power in 2012, and there has been a flurry of unconfirmed reports in Japanese media that a swap deal involving Goto might be in the works.
Goto’s mother, speaking shortly after the presumed deadline had passed late yesterday, said: “My emotions are all over the place. A time limit has been set, and that has made me nervous.”
She had earlier urged the Japanese government to do its utmost to save his life.
Abe called on Jordan to cooperate in working for Goto’s quick release.
Goto went to Syria in October. According to friends, he was attempting to secure the release of Haruna Yukawa, his friend who was captured in August. In the first of three videos purportedly of Goto, released last week, a black-clad masked figure with a knife said Goto and Yukawa would be killed within 72 hours if Japan did not pay Islamic State $200 million.