Trudeau wants justice for Canadians beheaded by Abu Sayyaf

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and Canada are working together to  to bring to justice the Abu Sayyaf bandits who killed their Canadian hostages last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, November 14.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded Canadian citizens John Ridsdel and Robert Hall in April and June 2016, respectively, as deadlines for ransom payments lapsed.

“We have been advised by the Philippines that most of the people engaged in the kidnapping of two Canadians have been killed in military operations. But we continued to work with the Philippines so that everyone associated with that is brought to justice,” Trudeau said in a press conference in Manila on Tuesday.

He made the statement when a Canadian journalist asked Trudeau for updates on his promise to bring the bandits to justice.

Trudeau said that during his meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte,  they discussed how they can collaborate on “reducing hostage-taking as a fund raising mechanism” for terrorists. 

Trudeau upheld Canada’s no-ransom policy, stressing the need to cut the sources of revenue of the bandit groups.

Trudeau said Canada will continue to be a part of international efforts to fight international terrorism and will work to ensure that “there are consequences for anyone engaged in terrorist hostage taking.”

“We continue to look for ways to be more effective [in fighting terrorism] and provide better support to families who are in this tragic and horrific circumstances,” he said.

The kidnapping activities of the Abu Sayyf did not abate when President Rodrigo Duterte assume power, and even got worse in the first months of his administration.

A Vietnamese hostage of the Abu Sayyaf recently died while in captivity but 3 of his colleagues were rescued. – Rappler.com