American hostage Warren Weinstein is shown in this image captured from an undated video courtesy of SITE Intelligence Group. [Photo/Agencies]

 

Lo Porto's mother told reporters in Palermo, Sicily: "I don't want to talk, leave me alone in my grief."

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, speaking in Brussels, said, "I have much appreciated the transparency of the United States in taking their responsibilities for what happened and the way Obama communicated what happened."

US TREATMENT OF HOSTAGES

Weinstein's wife, Elaine, said her family was devastated by his death. She criticized the US government for "inconsistent and disappointing" assistance during her husband's years in captivity. Obama said he spoke with her on Wednesday.

Like some other American families whose relatives have been killed over the past year after being held hostage by militants in the Middle East, Elaine Weinstein called for a better US government policy for relaying information to hostages' families.

"We hope that my husband's death and the others who have faced similar tragedies in recent months will finally prompt the US Government to take its responsibilities seriously and establish a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families," she said in a statement.

US congressman John Delaney of Maryland, who has helped the Weinstein family, and other lawmakers said the United States needs to do a better job handling American hostage cases.

Weinstein, 73, was abducted in Lahore, Pakistan, while working as a contractor for the US Agency for International Development. Al Qaeda had asked to trade him for members of the group held by the United States.

Weinstein, who lived in Rockville, Maryland, was seen in videos released in May 2012 and December 2013 asking for Obama to intervene on his behalf and saying he was suffering from heart problems and asthma.

On Thursday, yellow ribbons were tied on many trees in his Rockville neighborhood near Washington, D.C. Outside his home, there were vases and bouquets of flowers and clippings of cherry blossoms.