Two senior members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militant gang were jailed for life by a court in the Philippines on Friday for the 2000 kidnapping of an American national. Hector Janjalani and Muhammad Ajijon were found guilty "beyond reasonable doubt" and were also ordered to pay some 100,000 pesos (US$1,785) in damages to Jeffrey Schilling, the court said.
| That's all? That doesn't even cover my tuition costs for the semester ... |
Janjalani is the brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani, who remains at large in the southern Philippines, while Ajijon is desribed as one of the group's lieutenants. Schilling, an American, was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf gunmen in August 2000 after he and his Filipina fiancee arrived in the southern island of Jolo, a known rebel stronghold.
| I think they reduced the monetary award on grounds of stupidity. |
The American was to have been introduced to relatives of his fiancee, Ivy Osani, in Jolo but instead found himself a captive of the Abu Sayyaf led by Janjalani's group for eight months. He was later rescued and reunited with his family, but subsequently returned to Manila to file charges against Janjalani. During his captivity, the American was kept in deplorable conditions, often shackled in body chains and tied to a coconut tree, the court heard. He later met Osani, a native of Jolo island and who later was found out to be a distant relative of some Abu Sayyaf gunmen. Investigators had cleared Osani of involvement, and it was she who later filed the charges in court against Janjalani. |