Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo uesterday hailed the conviction of 17 Moslem Abu Sayyaf rebels who were sentenced to death for kidnapping several people on a southern island.
Arroyo said the conviction of the guerrillas by a local court "is a triumph of civilized democracy over terror.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"I laud the judiciary for this singular act of just retribution done with determined prosecution," she said in a statement.
Danilo Bucoy, a regional trial court judge, found on Friday the 17 accused guilty of kidnapping more than a dozen people during the attack on Lamitan town in Basilan province, 900km south of Manila, in June 2001.
Among those sentenced to die was a cousin of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, one of five rebel leaders wanted by the US.
Court officials, however, said the others have escaped or were still at large.
The 17 were immediately flown to Manila late Friday for commitment in the National Penitentiary while awaiting the final review of the Supreme Court on their cases.
The attack on Lamitan occurred a few days after Abu Sayyaf rebels seized 20 people, including three Americans, from a resort in the western province of Palawan and brought them to Basilan.
The rebels laid siege on a hospital and a church in the town's centre, triggering an almost day-long standoff with government soldiers. They were able to flee the area with more hostages despite being surrounded by troops.
Two of the three American hostages and a Filipino nurse seized in Lamitan were killed during their captivity, while the other hostages were either freed after paying ransom or were rescued by the military.
The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest but most violent Moslem rebel group in the southern Philippines. The US has included the guerrillas in its blacklist of foreign terrorists due to alleged links to the al- Qaeda international network.
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