ANKARA - Relatives of a Turkish businessman held hostage in Iraq pleaded with his kidnappers to spare his life and vowed Wednesday that he would never return to Iraq if set free.
"We implore these people in the name of Allah," Ahmet Musluoglu, brother of Ali Musluoglu, told AFP. "May they have pity on him and his family."
"Ali will never again set foot in Iraq if he is freed safe and sound," said Ahmet Musluoglu, who confirmed that the man shown in a video broadcast by Dubai television on Tuesday was his 48-year-old brother.
Using the name the Ali bin Abi Taleb Brigades, the militants warned in the video they would kill the businessman and two companions "unless the Turkish authorities cease all forms of logistical support to the US military as well as cooperation with US firms doing business in Iraq."
Ali Musluoglu, who is married and has seven children, was on business with the family's transport company when he was taken hostage on May 19.
Turks have frequently fallen victim to the persistent violence in their southern neighbor -- around 90 have been killed in recent months, most of them truck drivers caught in ambushes.
06/08/2005 07:58 GMT