Abu Sayyaf militants holding a Malaysian and two Indonesian fishermen captive are threatening to behead the trio unless a ransom is paid for their release.A video has surfaced, showing one of the Indonesian men with a knife held to his neck appealing to Indonesia's president as well as an Indonesian negotiator to help secure their release. The video was uploaded on Facebook on February 14 and appears to have been edited from a longer video.
The two hostages seen in the video with their faces covered are believed to be Indonesians Heri Ardiansyah, 19, and Hariadin, 45. The two were kidnapped together with Malaysian hostage Jari Abdulla, 24, in eastern Sabah waters close to the Philippines' Tawi Tawi Island chain on December 5.
The video surfaced several days after Abu Sayyaf gunmen called Jari's wife saying that no Malaysian authorities or negotiators have contacted them to secure her husband's release. The gunmen, who spoke in broken Malay, said that her husband would face "difficulties" if there was no contact from Malaysia.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah has said Malaysian police were working with their Philippines counterparts to secure the hostages' release.