Korkie's wife pleads for mercy

The wife of kidnapped teacher Pierre Korkie has made another emotional appeal for his release.

Yolande Korkie's plea to Yemen's al-Qaeda-linked kidnappers was posted on YouTube yesterday.

She says: "With the coming month of Ramadan, the month of mercy and forgiveness, we ask you to please release him unconditionally, as you released me.

"Please have mercy. Pierre is an innocent man and has not hurt anyone ." she says.

The kidnappers, with whom negotiators lost contact in February, have demanded more than R30-million for the release of Korkie, whom they have held for the past year.