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Former FBI Agent, Kidnapped in 2007, Shows Up in Hostage Video

Robert Levinson went missing in 2007 while visiting Iran to investigate a cigarette-smuggling case as a private detective. Iran has insisted they have no idea about his whereabouts, but Levinson, an ex-FBI agent, showed up alive in a video posted today, pleading for help, as his family clamors for more info from the kidnappers. “I have been treated well, but I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me for three and a half years,” Levinson says in the clip, appearing thin while noting his bad health and low supply of diabetes medication. He adds, “Please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something. Please help me.”

Levinson’s family posted the clip on their Help Bob Levinson blog, along with a request for demands. “We don’t know what else to do. Please tell us what you want, and please help us bring my father home,” says Levinson’s son. “We are not part of any government, and we are not experts on the region,” he says, addressing the mysterious kidnappers. “We tried to contact you, but you never responded.”

The video arrived last year, but was not published for fear of complicating diplomatic discussions to bring Levinson home, which appear to have stalled or hit a dead end, possibly as a result of increased tensions with Iran. The are some indications that Levinson could also be in Pakistan or Afghanistan. “We love you. We miss you every day,” says Levinson’s wife in the video. “We will not abandon you.”

Former FBI Agent Shows Up in Hostage Video