In the 52-second video, broadcast by a private TV channel, the man - whose name is being withheld in Germany for legal reasons - said mujahideen had captured him because of the "bad policies" of the German government. "We are in big difficulties now," the calm German said in the video, in which he is seen sitting on a chair.
"Please accept the demands of the mujahideen. They can kill us at every time. We don't know when. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe in three days." There was no mention of the Italian in the video, although the German said "we." He spoke in English in the video and said he was 59. He also said he works for Welthungerhilfe, a German non-governmental organisation working in food security and other humanitarian assistance works.