Gift of the Givers makes final plea to free SA paramedic held hostage by al-Qaeda in Mali

Cape Town – Gift of the Givers has reportedly made a final effort to persuade the al-Qaeda-linked group JNIM in Mali to release South African paramedic Gerco van Deventer, who has been held hostage for nearly six years.

According to News24, Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said on Sunday that the organisation’s negotiator, Mohamed Yehia Dicko, returned from Mali recently, where engaged with various individuals, including tribal leaders and intermediaries, to secure Van Deventer’s release without a ransom.

“Yehia met the chief intermediary, several other intermediaries, elders, tribal leaders and people of influence to convince JNIM [al-Qaeda] to consider a ransom-free release as there was no source to provide ransom money.

“Yehia also met Mali State Security to facilitate safe passage of Gerco in the event a release occurs,” the report quoted Sooliman as saying.

He said, however, that the primary obstacle to his unconditional release is that JNIM “purchased” him from a Libyan group and wants compensation for their “investment”.

---

ALSO READ | WATCH | SA’s Gerco van Deventer pleads for help in ‘proof of life’ video

---

The negotiations also involved meetings with Mali State Security to arrange for Van Deventer’s safe passage if a release occurs, the report said.

The 47-year-old was kidnapped in Libya on 3 November 2017 on his way to a power plant construction site about 1 000km south of the capital Tripoli.

Three other Turkish engineers seized at the same time were freed seven months later, but Van Deventer remained in captivity and was moved to Mali.

Last month, reports indicated that Van Deventer was closer to his release as Dicko has received confirmation from his captors that a final decision on his unconditional release was being considered.

“Yehia has travelled the length and breadth of rural areas in the north of Mali, having met our chief intermediary, who in turn connected Yehia to several other intermediaries requesting them to dialogue on our behalf with JNIM (Al-Qaeda in Mali).

“Yehia is in the desert of Mali, going from village to village to engage tribal leaders and elders to garner support to influence the captors positively, Times Live quoted Sooliman as saying at the time.