A court in the Philippines has found 17 members of the militant group Abu Sayyaf guilty of kidnapping and sentenced them to life imprisonment for their involvement in the abduction of 21 individuals from a dive resort in Malaysia over 20 years ago. Among those convicted were key figures in the group, Hilarion Santos and Redendo Dellosa, both of whom have been listed as terrorists by the United Nations. Officials from the Department of Justice in Manila confirmed the verdict and sentences on Monday.
The Regional Trial Court, based in Taguig City, delivered life sentences to these individuals with eligibility for parole after serving 30 years. The kidnapping incident dates back to April 2000 when armed militants from Abu Sayyaf attacked the Sipadan Island dive resort in Malaysia, taking hostages that included both European tourists and Asian resort workers at gunpoint.
The Abu Sayyaf group emerged from a protracted struggle for Muslim autonomy in the southern Philippines, which is home to a minority Muslim population within a predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Given their history of violence, including bombings and ransom kidnappings, both the Philippines and the United States label Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization.
During their peak activities in the late 1990s, the group engaged in various brutal acts, including beheadings and violent kidnappings. However, they have since seen a decline due to military defeats, surrenders, and internal conflicts.
The hostages captured during the attack included a German family of three, two Finnish tourists, a South African couple, a Lebanese woman, and two French nationals, alongside several Malaysians and Filipinos working at the resort. The captives were transported by speedboat to the forests of Sulu province in the Philippines, where they endured harsh conditions until most were ransomed, with significant sums reportedly funneled by then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Journalists from a major news agency, who were granted access to interview the captives during their time in the jungle, reported seeing them in distress, sitting on banana leaves surrounded by makeshift enclosures of tree branches. Many desperately wrote letters pleading for food, water, and medical supplies while calling for assistance from their families and embassies to secure their freedom.
Following the release of the hostages, the Philippine military initiated extensive operations against the Abu Sayyaf, resulting in the capture or death of numerous group leaders and members. One of the masterminds behind the kidnapping, Ghalib Andang, was killed in a police operation during a failed prison break in a high-security facility in Manila in 2005.