A Philippine court convicted 14 Muslim militants yesterday of abducting a US missionary couple and 18 others in a 2001 kidnapping spree that left two Americans dead and prompted Washington to start training Philippine troops.
Most of the top leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which orchestrated the abductions at the resort island of Palawan, have been killed in clashes since the trial opened in 2003. Philippine officials have credited the US counterterrorism training that started in 2002 for many of the battlefield successes.
Out of 85 suspects originally charged with kidnapping, 23 were captured and tried, and 18 appeared in court.
PHOTO: EPA
Fourteen were sentenced yesterday to life in prison and ordered to pay damages to the victims. Four were acquitted. Four others were killed in a botched prison break in 2005, and one has been cleared of charges.
"We commend the justice system for showing the rule of law," said Robert Courtney, the US Justice Department's attache at the Manila embassy.
He said he would relay the decision to Gracia Burnham, who was wounded and her husband killed during their rescue at the end of the yearlong ordeal.
"It's important to try to compensate victims, but how can she ever be made to feel whole after the trauma that she went through," Courtney said.
Former Filipino hostage Angelica Montealegre praised the convictions, but said some guerrillas still remain at large.
"We are not sure of our safety. [But] they deserve this," she said.
Toting Hannoh, who was found guilty, struck a defiant note. Asked if this was the end of the Abu Sayyaf, he said: "No, it will become stronger."
Among those acquitted was the only woman in the group, Satra Tilao, the disabled sister of rebel leader Abu Sabaya, who was killed by troops after the abductions.
"I'm so happy. Thanks to Allah! I'm taking my daughter home," said her mother, Isnaria Kuranding. "She was never a terrorist. How can she be, she's a cripple."
Gracia and Martin Burnham, missionaries for the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when they were snatched by the Abu Sayyaf at the upscale Dos Palmas resort in Palawan on May 27, 2001, and taken by speedboat to southern Basilan island.
Fellow American Guillermo Sobero and 17 Filipinos were also kidnapped. Sobero, from Corona, California, was among several hostages beheaded by the rebels.
Martin Burnham and a Filipino nurse were killed during the military rescue raid on June 7, 2002.
The other hostages were released or managed to escape.
Burnham, who is from Wichita, Kansas, returned to the Philippines in 2004 to testify against her abductors.
She told the court she learned from Abu Sabaya that the rebels received a ransom from an unknown source, but that the guerrillas still refused to free her and her husband.
Burnham recounted her ordeal in a book, In the Presence of My Enemies, which aroused controversy in the Philippines because of her allegations that an unnamed Philippine general tried to get half of a possible ransom for the hostages and that soldiers delivered food and sold weapons to the guerrillas
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS