MANILA: A German couple kidnapped by Islamic militants were handed over to their embassy yesterday after a six-month ordeal marked by constant threats of beheading, as the Philippines confronted a security threat it thought it had overcome.
Officials said a private plane flew Stefan Okonek, in his 70s, and his partner Henrike Dielen, in her 50s, to Manila from the southern port of Zamboanga at dawn after Abu Sayyaf gunmen released them late Friday.
“With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements,” Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma said.
The Abu Sayyaf released the couple on Friday as its deadline for the German government to pay a $5.6m ransom and withdraw its support for US offensives against jihadists in Syria and Iraq lapsed.
Philippine authorities said the two hostages were snatched at sea on April 25 as they sailed near the western island of Palawan.
During their captivity, believed spent mostly on the remote southern island of Jolo, the kidnappers systematically used the press and social media to threaten the hostages’ lives and force Berlin to pay up.
They forced the couple to beg for their lives in telephone calls to a local radio station as well video clips uploaded on the Internet.
In one Okonek stared up from a hole in the ground that he said he was told would become his grave. In another he screamed in pain as his kidnappers hit him repeatedly on the head.
The kidnappers, a notorious band of militants with links to Al Qaeda but who recently pledged alliance to the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, claimed they collected “no more, no less” than their ransom demand. Filipino officials said they could not confirm this.
But Rex Robles, a retired Philippine intelligence officer, said it was inconceivable that the Abu Sayyaf would set the hostages free without a ransom. AFP
