Photos of kidnapped ex-FBI agent released

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Newly released photos of Robert Levinson, the retired FBI agent kidnapped in Iran in 2007, show him in an orange jump suit with hands chained, his family says

Levinson's family said they have had the photographs since 2011, ABC News reported. They said they decided to release them now to put pressure on the U.S. and Iranian governments to secure his release.

Levinson is holding up a series of signs. One says "Help me" and another "This is the result of 30 years serving for USA."

"They are very difficult to look at," his wife, Christine Levinson, said on "Good Morning America." "Some of our daughters were crying to me about how upset they were to see them again."

Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared on the island of Kish. He was reportedly investigating cigarette smuggling for one of his clients.

His captors remain unknown although they appear to be suggesting they are linked to al-Qaida and that the kidnapping is payback for the detention of suspected terrorists at the U.S. base in Guantanamo.

In 2011, a video posted on the Internet showed Levinson asking for help.