Steven Sotloff Beheading Video Is Authentic, President Obama Says
A newly released video showing the Islamist terror group ISIS’ execution of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff has been deemed authentic, President Obama confirmed today at a joint news conference in Estonia.
In this handout image made available by the photographer Etienne de
Malglaive, American journalist Steven Sotloff (center with black helmet)
talks to Libyan rebels on the Al Dafniya front line, June 2, 2011 in
Misrata, Libya.
“Overnight, our government confirmed that, tragically, Steven was taken from us in a horrific act of violence,” Obama said.
Obama expressed sadness for Sotloff’s relatives, and said the barbaric acts “stiffen our resolve.”
“Those who make the mistake of harming Americans will learn that we will
not forget and that our reach is long and that justice will be served,”
he said.
Sotloff is the second American killed by someone professing to be a
member of the group. In the video, which appeared online Tuesday,
Sotloff addresses the camera, saying, “I’m sure you know exactly who I
am by now and why I am appearing.”
“Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be
for preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I am
paying the price of your interference with my life?” the journalist
says calmly as the black-clad militant holds a knife casually at his
side.
At the time of his capture last year, Sotloff had been covering the Middle East for years as a freelance reporter, including stints in Yemen and Egypt.
He wrote for Time Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, the Daily
Caller, Foreign Policy and, most recently, for World Affairs Journal.
The 31-year-old reporter studied journalism at the University of Central
Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel. His articles online show
heartfelt reporting about the brutality of the Syrian war.
Friends of Steven Sotloff speak admiringly of his talent, passion
Editor's note: This report was originally published last month after journalist James Foley's execution. It has been updated to include recent events.
(CNN) -- When freelance journalist Steven Sotloff
disappeared during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2013, his family
kept the news a secret. Families of hostages are frequently advised to
do this by security firms.
The abduction of Sotloff, who was beheaded Tuesday
-- according to a video released by the terror group, ISIS -- has been
international news since Sotloff was seen at the end of another video
published last month by the Islamic extremist group.
After journalist James Foley
was shown with his head cut off, the video's narrator indicated that
Sotloff would be killed if President Barack Obama did not cease U.S.
airstrikes against ISIS.
"I've known Steve was
missing for the past year -- the problem is, he was a low-profile
freelance journalist -- his family didn't want anyone in the media
talking about Steve because they were afraid of retaliation," said
Emerson Lotzia, who lived with Sotloff in college. "If any old friends
asked me about Steve over the past year, I'd just say I hadn't seen him
in a long time."
Sotloff's mother last week issued an emotional plea for her son's release. She directed her message to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Lotzia said he has been
in touch with Sotloff's father, Art, and before Tuesday's news of
Sotloff's killing, last month's video "was the first time his dad and
family have heard anything about Steve since last December."
Out of public view, the
family and a number of government agencies tried to gain Sotloff's
release for the past year. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, who
represents the district where the family lives, said that she had met
with the family in Miami and spoken with them by phone.
"My office has contacted
the relevant agencies, departments and even organizations with
connections on the ground in Syria to try to get answers for the Sotloff
family," Ros-Lehtinen said. "This is a tragic situation and we have
seen that [ISIS] has no respect for human life."
Sotloff, 31, grew up in
South Florida with his mother, father and younger sister. He attended
high school at a New England boarding school, Kimball Union in New
Hampshire. The school described him in a statement as "an active and
involved student whose interest in journalism was evident early on."
Not only was Sotloff
credited with revitalizing the student newspaper, he participated in
myriad extracurricular activities, including student council, varsity
football and rugby. He also appeared in the musical, "Cabaret," the
school said.
After graduation, he kept in touch with school faculty and sent e-mails detailing the events to which he bore witness.
"It was important to him
that Kimball Union students were exposed to world issues like the Arab
Spring. Steven wrote that Kimball Union had prepared him to see the
world through different lenses and to commit to using what he learned to
help others," the school statement said.
After high school, he
majored in journalism at the University of Central Florida. His personal
Facebook page lists musicians such as the Dave Matthews Band, Phish,
Miles Davis and movies "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Big Lebowski" as
favorites. On his Twitter page, he playfully identifies himself as a
"stand-up philosopher from Miami."
Lotzia met Sotloff when
they were both starting college in 2002. He described Sotloff as
"someone you want in your circle of friends -- just a good, good guy."
He reminisced about "epic video game battles at our apartment" -- usually NCAA football or other sports games.
In 2004, Sotloff left UCF and moved back to the Miami area.
"I think he was at a crossroads of life," Lotzia said. "He talked about wanting to go over to the Middle East."
He graduated from
another college, began taking Arabic classes and subsequently picked up
freelance writing work for a number of publications, including Time,
Foreign Policy, World Affairs and the Christian Science Monitor. His
travels took him to Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Syria, among
other countries.
"He's an incredible
writer," said Tim Smith, another college friend who kept in touch with
him via Facebook over the years. "I know reporting on an international
level is what he always wanted to do."
Ashley Burns, who edited
some of Sotloff's work for their college newspaper, said that out of
all the people he met through the newspaper, he wished he had followed
Sotloff's work more in recent years.
"He writes with
incredible passion, about Benghazi and his experiences in Syria and
Turkey, while showing an incredible relationship with -- and
understanding of -- the people that he met in the countries that he has
worked in," Burns said. "He has seen things I'll never see, and his
courage is incredible."
Karisa Workman, who taught Sotloff in a UCF oral communication class a decade ago, said she remembered him well.
"He was genuinely
interested in his classmates' speeches," she said. "In fact, he often
asked follow-up questions to the student speeches. In retrospect, he was
a journalist even in the classroom."
Another college friend, Danielle Montoya, said she remembered him as a quiet guy who was loyal to his friends.
"I remember Emerson had a
show on the UCF radio station focused on sports talk, and not a lot of
people would call in when they were getting the show started up," she
said. "Steve would call in to support him and ask questions so the show
was at least a little entertaining to listen to."
Montoya said she thought Sotloff's effort "says something about his character to support his buddy's ambition."
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