Jordan is willing to release Iraqi prisoner Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi if captured pilot Mu’ath Kasasbeh is freed as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Daesh, according to government spokesperson, Al Momani.
"Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh was released and his life spared," Momani said on state TV Wednesday. “Jordan gave priority to the Jordanian pilot from the beginning of the crisis."
Al-Rashawi was due to be handed over to Daesh militants in Iraq as pressure continues to fall on the Jordanian government to secure the release of captured pilot, Mu’ath Kasasbeh.
The statement, however, did not mention captive Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who Daesh militants originally offered as exchange for al-Rishawi in a video released by the group last week. Goto was captured last October after reportedly traveling to Raqqa to rescue Haruna Yukawa, who was abducted by Daesh in the summer of 2014 and beheded earlier this month.
Around 1,000 protesters, including family members of Kasasbeh, gathered in Jordan's capital Amman Tuesday night following an ultimatum put forth by Daesh in which the group threatened to kill both Goto and Kasasbeh if Jordan failed to release al-Rishawi within a 24-hour window.
