James Foley beheading video protested: Louise Mensch, Mia Farrow and more urge public to stop sharing graphic film

Numerous high-profile names have called to the public to stop spreading beheading film

Mia Farrow, Louise Mensch and Krishnan Guru-Murthy are among famous names who have urged the public to stop spreading a graphic film showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley.

Militants from the Islamic State today (20 August) released a video which documents the decapitation of Foley in what it claims is a revenge killing for the ongoing US air strikes in Iraq.

Entitled A Message to America, a man dressed in all black warns Barack Obama of further retaliation, while holding a knife. Foley - who was kidnapped in November 2012 - appears kneeling alongside him, before he is eventually executed.

Farrow, Mensch and Guru-Murphy argue that forwarding the film promotes the message of fear that Islamic State militants hoped for.

“I call on my friends family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality,” Foley can be heard saying in the video.

Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, wrote the following message on the Free James Foley Facebook page this morning:

“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,” she wrote.

“We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. 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. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.”