Colombian rebels released a proof-of-life video on Saturday of a 44-year-old regional lawmaker who was kidnapped six years ago in the western city of Cali.
The video of Sigifredo Lopez was delivered to a commission that includes the Roman Catholic Church, Cali’s mayor and the public ombudsman’s office, said Patricia Nieto, Lopez’s wife.
It was the second known proof-of-life documentation of a hostage that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has provided since February, when the group released four Colombian politicians with the help of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
“He calls for the kidnapped not to be forgotten and reiterates that it’s necessary to keep working to secure a prisoner swap,” Nieto told reporters.
The FARC wants Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to demilitarize a swath of southwestern Colombia to facilitate talks that could lead to the release of all its hostages, but they have failed to agree on conditions.
The 44-year-old Lopez was the only one of 12 regional deputies kidnapped in April 2002 to survive an attack almost exactly a year ago in which the rest were killed.
Bogota says the FARC killed the deputies by mistake when another rebel unit approached without warning. The FARC says the hostages died in an attack by an unidentified armed group.
Lopez was being punished and had been separated from the rest at the time, the documents reportedly say.
Nieto said her husband looked “stable” and said he regretted the deaths of his fellow deputies.
It was not clear when the video was recorded, and the government had no immediate comment.
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