 -- The mother of an American writer being held hostage by ISIS pleaded directly with the leader of the Iraqi terror group in a new video, begging him to “please, release my child.”

“As a mother, I ask you justice be merciful and not [to] punish my son for matters he has no control over,” Shirley Sotloff says, speaking directly to the camera in the new video and addressing ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the “caliph.” “I ask you to use your authority to spare his life.”

“I want what every mother wants, to live to see their children’s children. I plead with you to grant me this,” Shirley Sotloff says. The new video appeared today on the Middle Eastern news outlet Al Arabiya and was obtained by ABC News.

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Freelance reporter Steven Sotloff, 31, was last seen alive at the end of the disturbing video which showed the beheading of American journalist James Foley. The black-hooded ISIS militant in the video spoke directly to President Obama, calling on him to end American airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq.

“The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision,” the masked man says, holding Sotloff by the collar of his shirt.

Despite the shocking video and strongly-worded message from Sotloff’s captors, the U.S. has not yet halted the air strikes.

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