MOSCOW, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - The US Senate has unanimously approved a bill offering up to $10 million for actionable information on the kidnapping and killing of two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, who were recently executed by Islamic State (IS) militants, the Telegraph reports.
The money will be given to any person, who provides information which can be used to arrest or convict any individual for committing, conspiring or attempting to abduct and kill the two journalists, under the US State Department's Rewards for Justice Program. The bipartisan resolution was drafted by US Senators from Foley’s and Sotloff’s native states - Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson from Florida, Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire. The bill was co-sponsored by Ted Cruz, senator from Texas.
The measure will help to honor the memories of James Foley and Steven Sotloff by bringing their “evil murderers” to justice, Rubio insisted, according to a press release published on his website. “It’s important that we send a powerful message to the Foley and Sotloff families, to the American people and to the world that the United States will work tirelessly to ensure that the deaths of these beloved journalists [do] not go unpunished,” he added.
Senator Shaheen said that every effort must be made to bring those who killed “two courageous and inspiring journalists” to justice. For his part, Ted Cruz urged US President Barack Obama to use this opportunity “to send an emphatic message to the world that we will hunt down and punish these killers and anyone else who seeks to harm U.S. citizens.”
To come into force, the bill needs to be approved by the US House of Representatives and signed by the president.
James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded by the Islamic State, a radical Sunni group that currently controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The brutal executions, that allegedly took place mid-August and early September, were filmed and uploaded to social media as a message to America to stop airstrikes against IS targets.
