A U.S. citizen kidnapped by al-Qaeda in Pakistan has appeared in a new video appeal to President Obama. Warren Weinstein was working as a U.S. government contractor when he was seized two years ago. Al-Qaeda has said it will free him if the United States stops air strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and frees al-Qaeda prisoners, among other demands. On the tape, Weinstein asks President Obama to help win his release.

Warren Weinstein: “It seems that I have been totally abandoned and forgotten. You are now in your second term as president of the United States. And that means that you can now take hard decisions without worrying about re-election. And so I again appeal to you to instruct your appropriate officials to negotiate my release.”

Weinstein goes on to say his captors have agreed to let his family members visit him if the United States allows the same courtesy to its al-Qaeda prisoners.