The friend of a Canadian journalist kidnapped in Somalia says he is worried by a new video released by her captors.
The footage broadcast by Al Jazeera shows Amanda Lindhout, of Sylvan Lake, Alta., and her Australian colleague Nigel Brennan.
They were kidnapped on Aug. 23, along with a Somali journalist and two guards, near Mogadishu.
Jeremy Kroeker told CTV Newsnet he was relieved that his friend appears to be alive and well. However, he said he is worried that her captors seem to be making a political statement rather than one motivated by a possible ransom.
"They didn't make any further demands for money," Kroeker said from Calgary after watching the new footage.
"There was no money mentioned, there was only the concern for our government's involvement in their country, which is concerning."
The Qatar-based network said their captors are members of the so-called Mujahedeen of Somalia -- a group that accuses the governments of Canada and Australia of contributing to the "destruction" of Somalia.
Earlier this month, the Montreal-based Reporters Without Borders said the group had demanded $2.5 million in ransom for the release of the three journalists. However, there was no mention of the money in the new footage.
The video shows Lindhout wearing a long red head covering while Brennan is wearing Western-style clothes.
Al Jazeera reports that the two prisoners appeal in the video to their governments to work for their release.
Kroeker met Lindhout in Damascus, Syria two months ago, while the TV and print journalist was waiting for a visa to enter Iraq to work as a correspondent for Iranian network Press TV.
He said she was well researched and knew the risks she faced by working in conflict zones -- and thrived on the challenge of telling important stories in dangerous situations.
Another friend, Chris Gelken, a journalist and former anchor with Press TV who worked with Lindhout in Baghdad, said she had about two years experience working in "quite scary places like Afghanistan and other areas in Africa and of course Iraq."
However, he conceded she "isn't the most experienced journalist out there" and said he would often speak with Lindhout over the phone when she was in dangerous situations in Iraq.
Gelken said he spoke to a Somali contact Wednesday who told him it is a good thing that Lindhout appears to be held by an Islamist group, rather than "a bunch of criminals."
"If it is an Islamist group they tend to ... have to answer to higher authorities. So he said it was a good thing regarding their security and hopefully the possibility for a negotiated release," Gelken said.
Kroeker said he believes Lindhout will make the best of the situation.
"She just exudes optimism," Kroeker said. "She's one of the most positive people I've met. She takes any obstacles that are in her path and she uses them as challenges she will overcome one way or another."
