Courtesy of Christine Levinson / AP Photo
The family of Robert A. Levinson, a former FBI agent in Iran who disappeared from a Persian Gulf resort five years ago, posted a video online Friday in which he appears to be held hostage. Received in November 2010, the video shows Levinson saying, "I have been treated well. But I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me for three and a half years. And please help me get home." The family’s decision to release the video is a sign that United States government—which had been treating his kidnapping mainly as a diplomatic matter—has not made much progress in securing his release. In the year-old plea, Levinson also said his condition was worsening. "I am not in very good health," he said. "I am running very quickly out of diabetes medicine."