Iraqi-British hostage Margaret Hassan has urged Britain to withdraw its troops from Iraq and free Iraqi women prisoners, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.
The Arabic television channel aired a video showing Hassan, who was seized by unknown kidnappers in Baghdad last week, standing in a dimly lit room.
"Please release the women prisoners from the prison in Iraq," said a tired looking Hassan, director of the Care International charity in Iraq. The rest of her comments could not be heard clearly.
Unlike several videos of hostages kidnapped in Iraq, there were no militants or banners appearing in the short footage aired by Al Jazeera.
"She appealed to ... British Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw troops from Iraq and not deploy them in Baghdad. She asked the British government to release Iraqi women from prisons," Al Jazeera said.
The television said Hassan also asked Care International employees to end their operations in Iraq. The charity suspended its work in the country after Hassan was kidnapped.
Dublin-born Hassan, who also appeared in videos issued by the kidnappers last week, is the eighth foreign woman to have been kidnapped in Iraq since April.
The others, including two Italian aid workers held for three weeks in September, have been freed.