This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/world/asia/jurgen-kantner-hostage-abu-sayyaf.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Video Shows Beheading of German Hostage, Philippines Says Video Shows Beheading of German Hostage, Philippines Says
(about 1 hour later)
MANILA — The Philippines said on Monday that a man shown being beheaded in a video was a 70-year-old German who was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf militant group three months ago while traveling on a yacht with his partner. MANILA — After years sailing the oceans, Jürgen Kantner was a German in name only. In 2009, after he and his partner, Sabine Merz, had been abducted at sea, held for 52 days in Somalia and released after a six-figure ransom was reportedly was paid, he returned there to get his boat.
A short video posted on various sites affiliated with Abu Sayyaf militants showed the hostage, Jürgen Kantner, hogtied and slumped to the ground with a machete-wielding militant behind him. “Why should I return to Germany, where I have nobody?” Mr. Kantner was quoted as saying at the time. “After 32 years on my boat, I have lost all contact” with people back home.
The gruesome video, which runs for less than two minutes, shows a bearded and disheveled man identified by the Philippine authorities as Mr. Kantner, faintly saying, “Now they’ll kill me.” Still, he acknowledged that going back to Somalia was “a little bit like suicide,” and he said he prayed that he would not be taken hostage a second time.
The government said it was trying to recover Mr. Kantner’s body He and his partner, Sabine Merz, had been abducted once before, off Somalia in 2008, and they were held for 52 days before being freed, reportedly after a six-figure ransom was paid. Mr. Kantner and Ms. Merz returned to the ocean, and they eventually earned an unwanted distinction: They were abducted a second time, by members of the Abu Sayyaf militant group in November, while sailing through the southern Philippines on their 53-foot yacht, the Rockall. The yacht was found months ago with a dead woman later identified as Ms. Merz.
On Monday, the Philippine and German governments said that a man who was shown being beheaded in a video released by the militant group was the 70-year-old Mr. Kantner.
The video, which runs for less than two minutes and which was posted on various sites affiliated with Abu Sayyaf, showed Mr. Kantner, hogtied and slumped to the ground with a machete-wielding militant behind him. The bearded and disheveled hostage saysfaintly, “Now they’ll kill me.”
“We grieve as we strongly condemn the barbaric beheading of yet another kidnap victim,” said Jesus Dureza, an adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte. “Up to the last moment, many sectors, including the armed forces of the Philippines, exhausted all efforts to save his life. We all tried our best, but to no avail.”“We grieve as we strongly condemn the barbaric beheading of yet another kidnap victim,” said Jesus Dureza, an adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte. “Up to the last moment, many sectors, including the armed forces of the Philippines, exhausted all efforts to save his life. We all tried our best, but to no avail.”
Mr. Dureza said he had been in close contact with the German authorities. A German Foreign Ministry spokesman, Martin Schäfer, said the government had not been able to assess whether the video was authentic, citing “the shortness of time.” But he added that security officials would examine the “shocking” video. Mr. Kantner appeared in another video released this month in which he said the Islamist militants would behead him soon if they did not receive a ransom.
Mr. Schäfer declined to give further information on the abduction or possible ransom claims, but as a matter of principle, he said, public statements were not helpful in abduction cases.
Mr. Kantner appeared in a video released this month in which he said the Islamist militants would behead him soon if they did not receive a ransom.
Abu Sayyaf had demanded $600,000 for Mr. Kantner and had set a deadline of Monday for the German and Philippine governments to comply.Abu Sayyaf had demanded $600,000 for Mr. Kantner and had set a deadline of Monday for the German and Philippine governments to comply.
The Philippine authorities found the couple’s 53-foot yacht last year, and a dead woman was later identified as Ms. Merz.
Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the Philippines would stick to its policy of refusing to pay ransom and that it would seek technological help from its allies to pinpoint remaining hostages.Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the Philippines would stick to its policy of refusing to pay ransom and that it would seek technological help from its allies to pinpoint remaining hostages.
“We will undertake our operations to make sure we give a premium to saving the lives of the hostages and precisely because of this our task has not been easy but we are prepared to crush them when the opportunity comes,” he said in Geneva, where he was attending a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.“We will undertake our operations to make sure we give a premium to saving the lives of the hostages and precisely because of this our task has not been easy but we are prepared to crush them when the opportunity comes,” he said in Geneva, where he was attending a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Although Abu Sayyaf is relatively small, with fewer than 500 members, it has been responsible for some of the country’s worst terrorist attacks, including bombings, killings and the targeting of foreign nationals.Although Abu Sayyaf is relatively small, with fewer than 500 members, it has been responsible for some of the country’s worst terrorist attacks, including bombings, killings and the targeting of foreign nationals.
Early last decade, it kidnapped a group of Asian, European and American tourists who were later ransomed for millions of dollars, according to military intelligence, and the group was blamed for a ferry bombing in 2004 that left more than 100 dead, considered the worst terrorist attack to strike the Philippines.
Abu Sayyaf, or Bearers of the Sword, operates in mostly poor areas in the southern islands of Basilan and Sulu. Despite its small size, it has rebuffed countless military offensives and remains a serious threat, often using abductions to raise funds and killing hostages when ransoms are not paid. Last year, the militants beheaded two Canadians and a Filipino it had seized separately.Abu Sayyaf, or Bearers of the Sword, operates in mostly poor areas in the southern islands of Basilan and Sulu. Despite its small size, it has rebuffed countless military offensives and remains a serious threat, often using abductions to raise funds and killing hostages when ransoms are not paid. Last year, the militants beheaded two Canadians and a Filipino it had seized separately.
Mr. Dureza said terrorism had no place in a democratic country, and he promised that Mr. Duterte’s government, which has been fighting a violent antidrug campaign that has been severely criticized by human rights groups, would “confront violent extremism.”Mr. Dureza said terrorism had no place in a democratic country, and he promised that Mr. Duterte’s government, which has been fighting a violent antidrug campaign that has been severely criticized by human rights groups, would “confront violent extremism.”
“A precious life had been needlessly lost,” he said. “There must be a stop to this killing of the innocent and the helpless.”“A precious life had been needlessly lost,” he said. “There must be a stop to this killing of the innocent and the helpless.”