Abu Sayyaf spokesmen began phoning local media on Monday, June 13, 2016, to say a ransom deadline had expired at 3 p.m. and that their Canadian captive was dead. The captive was Robert Hall of Calgary. A military source told Al Jazeera, before any official statement, that he had been beheaded.
The Philippines confirmed the death the same day. President Benigno Aquino said he strongly condemned “the brutal and senseless murder” of a man held “for the past nine months.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he felt “deep sadness and anger” and held the group “fully responsible for this cold-blooded and senseless murder.” He repeated that Canada would not pay: “Canada cannot and will not pay ransoms to terrorists. We will not turn the Maple Leaf, worn with pride by over three million Canadians abroad, into targets.” He had made the same argument after the April killing of John Ridsdel, saying ransoms fund terrorism and criminal activity and set a dangerous precedent.
Nine months in captivity
Hall, born in Calgary in 1949, was a welder by trade, an experienced pilot and an amateur actor. He was taken on September 21, 2015, when gunmen raided a resort on Samal Island, disarmed its guards and led away four people. The others were Ridsdel, the resort’s Norwegian marina manager Kjartan Sekkingstad, and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend, Marites Flor.
The group had demanded C$16.6 million for the release of Hall, Flor and Sekkingstad, who also held Canadian permanent residency. In April the army said the militants threatened to behead a captive if $6.4 million per hostage was not paid. Local officials told the Globe and Mail that Hall’s family had offered C$1.4 million of their own. The militants turned it down.
After Ridsdel’s death a video circulated by the Site Intelligence Group showed Hall, Flor and Sekkingstad pleading with the Canadian and Philippine governments for help.
Mujiv Hataman, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, denounced the killing. “It has only been a week since Ramadan began, and it is appalling that this holy month we set aside for prayer and reflection has been already been violated by extremists here and abroad,” he said in a statement.
What came after
Flor was released later in June. Sekkingstad, the last of the group, went free in September 2016. Hall’s sister then spoke out, criticizing the Canadian government for doing nothing decisive or effective to try to rescue her brother.
Abu Sayyaf, which Canada and other Western countries classify as a terrorist organization, grew out of a separatist rebellion by Moro Muslims in the early 1990s. Kidnapping for ransom had spread beyond its stronghold of Sulu province to Palawan and Davao. Malaysia closed its border between Sabah state and the Philippines after a run of kidnappings of Malaysians, and the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia were planning joint naval patrols in the Sulu and Celebes seas.
Sources
- Abu Sayyaf group beheads Canadian captive
- Canadian hostage Robert Hall killed by militants, Philippines confirms
- Robert Hall (Canadian businessman) – Wikipedia
