International press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RWB) on Friday called for the "release without delay" of 33-year-old British photographer Luke Somers, who is being held by an Al-Qaeda affiliate group in Yemen.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) kidnapped Somers in September 2013 but the kidnap went unreported for fear publication of it would endanger the hostage.
But Somers' family and press organisations are now openly calling for his release because of AQAP threats to execute him if its demands are not met.
"We call on Somers' abductors to release him without delay," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
RWB also urged the Yemeni and US authorities not to use force to attempt to end the hostage-taking.
Somers had been based in Yemen since 2010 and had covered the political change there and worked for foreign and local Yemeni newspapers.