©EPA Jordan says it will release prisoner Sajida Mubarak al-Rishawi, left, if Isis releases pilot Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh, right
Jordan said on Wednesday it was willing to hand over an Iraqi woman jailed for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack if a Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis, was released.
Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani made no mention of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, the journalist who is also being held by the group.
“Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida Mubarak al-Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh is released and his life spared,” Mr Momani was quoted on state television as saying.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, has pressed Jordan for help in securing the release of the Japanese hostage, after a video surfaced overnight in which the prisoner appeared to say he could be killed in 24 hours.
Isis has threatened to kill Mr Goto and Mr Kasaesbeh unless Jordan releases Rishawi, an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber on death row for her involvement in a 2005 attack in Amman that killed 60 people.
The video shows an image of Mr Goto, a 47-year-old freelance journalist who disappeared in Syria last October, with a photo that appears to show Mr Kasaesbeh. Isis fighters last month captured the Jordanian pilot after the first loss of an allied aircraft since the launch of the US-led military operation against the Islamist militants.
“As we face this very tough situation, I’ve called on the government to work together as one for the prompt release [of Mr Goto],” Mr Abe said on Wednesday, adding that he was “outraged” by the “despicable act”.
In the recording, the voice claiming to be Mr Goto said he and Mr Kasaesbeh would be killed unless Jordan released Rishawi.
“Tell the Japanese government to put all their political pressure on Jordan,” the voice said. “Time is now running very short. It is me for her.”
Jordanian authorities are reportedly trying to authenticate the video. A Japanese government official said there was no evidence to suggest the image or voice was not Mr Goto.
The hostage crisis has gripped the nation since a first video was released last week in which a knife-wielding, black-clad figure threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless it received $200m within 72 hours from the Tokyo government.
In a second recording released on Saturday, a voice claiming to be Mr Goto said the other Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, a security company owner who disappeared in Syria last August, had been killed after the ransom deadline passed. The voice said the militants were no longer seeking a ransom but the release of Rishawi.
“I only have 24 hours left to live and the pilot has even less. Please don’t leave us to die,” the latest video said. “Any more delaying tactics will simply see both of us getting killed. The ball is now in the Jordanians’ court.”
Mr Kasaesbeh’s imprisonment has become a cause célèbre in Jordan. On Tuesday evening his father, Safi, and several dozen members of the family’s Karak tribe held a protest outside the government headquarters in Amman. He has urged Jordan’s leaders to save his son “at any price”.
Fumio Kishida, the foreign minister, told reporters on Wednesday that Japan was continuing to seek the help of the Jordanian government but declined to provide further details on the discussions.
The hostage crisis has stirred debate in Japan as Mr Abe seeks to revise the country’s pacifist constitution and expand Japan’s role in international security.
Opposition party members are already grilling the prime minister on whether it was wise for him to pledge $200m in non-military support against Isis during his Middle East tour, with local media reports saying some government officials opposed the idea on the grounds that it could provoke the militant organisation.
On Tuesday Mr Abe said it was “a natural obligation as a member of the international community” to provide humanitarian aid and emphasised that Japan should not bow to terrorism.
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