US Journalist's Mother Pleads with Islamic State to Release her Son

The mother of American journalist Steven Sotloff held captive by the Islamic State militants has appealed to the leader of the group to spare his life.

The Al Arabiya network broadcast the video in which Shirley Sotloff, Steven Sotloff's mother, made the emotional appeal to Islamic State Chief Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

Shirley Sotloff addressed the Islamic State chief as the caliph. She said that her son Steven was in his hands.

 "I ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to set the example of the Prophet Muhammad, who protected 'People of the Book,' " she said, referring to a Muslim term for Jews and Christians. "I want what every mother wants: to live to see her children's children. I plead with you to grant me this," Sotloff said, according to Daily News.

"I've always learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty," she said. "I ask you to please release my child. As a mother, I ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over," she said.

Describing Steven as a loyal and generous son, brother and grandson, Sotloff said that her son is a journalist who went to Middle East to cover the sufferings of Muslims from oppressors, reports The Telegraph.

She also said that Steven was a respectable man who helped the weak always.

Steven Sotloff appeared in the video released by the Islamic State last week which showed the killing of U.S. journalist James Foley.

The Islamic State militant, who was wearing a mask, said that Sotloff would face the same fate as Foley if Obama did not stop the attacks against the group.

Freelance journalist Steven Sotloff was captured by the Islamic State one year ago when he was reporting in Syria.