Johannesburg - A 13-second video clip showing a thinner Shiraaz Mohamed in a darkened room could be proof that the South African photographer is alive and finally might be coming home, after a month-and-half in captivity in Syria.
Bakar al-Maharmeh, the director of the Truth Collective South Africa, a humanitarian organisation, saw the video clip on the cellphone of a mediator while he was in Syria last month.
It is the first known evidence that the photographer is alive since he was captured while trying to leave Syria on January 10.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers had invited Mohamed to Syria.
It has now emerged that the motive for the photographer's capture was a kidnapping by a rebel group which was demanding the release of four prisoners being held by the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Now there is potential proof Mohamed is alive, al-Maharmeh said the South African and Syrian governments, the Red Cross, and a rebel organisation, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, were negotiating a prisoner swop for the South African.
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham recently changed its name from Jabhat al-Nusra.
The Syrian government, said al-Maharmeh, had surprisingly agreed to the exchange.
“I was shocked the Syrian accepted this deal as these men are dangerous and were involved in bombings that killed a number of civilians.”
He believed Syria was willing to do this because of the strong relationship they had with the South African government.
Mohamed is apparently being held in the town of Idlib, situated close to the Turkish border.
Al-Maharmeh travelled to Syria last month and said he approached the Syrian government to help find Mohamed.
Four days later, he was told by a mediator that Mohamed was being held captive in Idlib, which is an 11-hour drive north of Damascus.
“We requested proof that he is alive.”
The mediator returned with the video clip on his cellphone. The video is still in Syria.
“I can confirm he is alive. In the video, he is asked to say his name.
“He looked like he had been beaten up previously and had lost weight,” he said.
Mohamed was kidnapped as he travelled to the Turkish border.
His kidnappers apparently singled out Mohamed and took him in for questioning.
He had travelled to Syria with Gift of the Givers to document the lives of women and children in the country. Initially, his captors said they would hold him for 48 hours.
Syrian government intelligence told al-Maharmeh that Mohamed was detained because of something in his possession.
“We’re trying to figure out what it is. It might be something on his camera.”
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham has a his-
tory of kidnapping journalists.
The rebel group captured a French and a Chinese journalist, according to al-Maharmeh, who were later released following a prisoner exchange.
The rebel group is the largest in the northern part of Syria.
However, Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers, said he was not aware of the the Truth Collective’s claims.
His organisation, he said, was still searching for Mohamed. “We definitely know he is alive and that no ransom has been put on his head.”
Sooliman added that various organisations and Syrian citizens were actively searching for the photographer in Syria.
According to al-Maharmeh, the swop could have happened a lot earlier, but was prevented because of fighting between the various rebel groups.
“If they stopped fighting for half a day, they could make the swop,” he said.
He believed Mohamed could be released in the next couple of weeks.
Last night, Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said he did not have any new information on Mohamed.
When asked about the Truth Collective, he said: “If you want to know more just chat to them (the Truth Collective South Africa) they have all the information.”