Diane Foley : US reporter James Foley’s mother

Meet brave mom Diane Foley, the mother of missing American journalist James Foley. Diane’s 40-year-old son had gone missing more than a year ago in Syria. On Tuesday a video titled “A Message to America,” depicted a man believed to be him being beheaded by a member of the Islamic State terror group.

The mother of the photojournalist posted a statement Tuesday evening after the alleged video emerged online purported to show her son beheaded by Islamic State militants.

Diane Foley said in a note posted to the Free James Foley Facebook page:

“We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people,”

“We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents,” she continued. “They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.”

“We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us,” Foley’s mother concluded. “He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.”

Below we can see a picture of Diane and her son Mike, as they speak on national TV on the Today Show about missing James Foley in early 2013.

The 40-year-old journalist is the oldest of five children. He has reported independently and objectively from the Middle East for the past five years. Prior to his work as a journalist, Jim helped empower disadvantaged individuals as a teacher and mentor assisting them in improving their lives.

Diane’s son was taken hostage in Syria on 22 November 2012; while he was on an assignment in the war-torn country for Agence France-Press (AFP) and the US media company GlobalPost reporting on the bloody struggle against the Assad regime.

Below, pictures of Diane with her husband, children and grandchildren.

65-year-old Diane Foley is married to John Foley. The couple have five children together including James. The couple have lived in Rochester, NH; Wolfeboro, NH; Rochester Rochester, NH; Tiplersville, MS; Carlsbad, CA.

Philip Balboni, chief executive of GlobalPost, paid tribute to his employee and thanked the public on behalf of Mr Foley’s parents.

“On behalf of John and Diane Foley, and also GlobalPost, we deeply appreciate all of the messages of sympathy and support that have poured in since the news of Jim’s possible execution first broke.

“We have been informed that the FBI is in the process of evaluating the video posted by the Islamic State to determine if it is authentic. We ask for your prayers for Jim and his family.”

According to her Facebook profile Diane is from Keene, New Hampshire. Our prayers are with Ms. Foley and the rest of James’ family.