Austrian Hostage In Yemen Pleads For His Life In Video

Remember the three fools who were kidnapped in Yemen last December: two males, an Austrian and a guy from Finland, were in Sanaa studying Arabic, the woman (also a Finn) was traveling with the Finnish guy? It appears that Dominik Neubauer, the Austrian, has surfaced in the video below, pleading for his life. He claims his captors have told him he has a week for a ransom to be paid or he'll be executed. With a gun pointed at his neck, he tearfully speaks in both English and German, telling his mum, dad and siblings (I assume) how much he loves them.

“My name is Dominik Neubauer. I’m an Austrian citizen. I’ve been taken hostage on the 21st of December 2012 by a Yemeni tribe. I appeal to the Yemeni government, to the Austrian government and to all the governments concerned and to the European Union to give them what they want. Otherwise, they will kill me seven days after this video is published,” the 26-year-old Arabic studies student said in the video posted on Feb. 21, 2013.

I find it odd, though, that he says he is being held by a Yemeni tribe, and yet the Yemeni goverment has stated that the tribesmen who initially abducted the three foreigners sold them to al-Qaeda. And what's with the pretty floral background? That doesn't seem very militant to me.

The Austrian government believes the video is for real, but has said they will not be blackmailed when they are not sure who exactly is holding him captive.

Both the Finnish and Austrian governments are dealing with the issue.

Perhaps this will convince people that they should not be traveling to dangerous places like Yemen.