Philippine court convicts 14 militants in 2001 kidnapping

MANILA, Philippines: Fourteen Muslim militants were sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the 2001 kidnapping of a U.S. missionary couple and 18 others in a yearlong jungle ordeal that prompted U.S.-backed offensives against the guerrillas.

Gracia Burnham, of Wichita, Kan., survived the captivity, but her husband, Martin, was killed during a military rescue in June 2002. Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif., was beheaded by the rebels.
Most of the top leaders of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which orchestrated the abductions at a resort island, have been killed in clashes since the trial opened in 2003. Philippine officials have credited the U.S. counterterrorism training that started in 2002 for many of the battlefield successes.

"We commend the justice system for showing the rule of law," said Robert Courtney, the U.S. Justice Department's attache at the Manila embassy. He said he would relay the decision to Gracia Burnham.
The Burnhams, missionaries for the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when they were snatched by the Abu Sayyaf at the upscale Dos Palmas resort on Palawan island in May 2001, and taken by speedboat to southern Basilan island.

The rescue operation left a Filipino nurse dead, and two Filipino security guards from the resort also were beheaded by the rebels. The other hostages were released or managed to escape.

"The trauma is still very much here. No amount of money can compensate," said former hostage Buddy Recio, who was held for seven days. "We are still suffering from the nightmare."

Defendant Toting Hannoh, who was found guilty, struck a defiant note. Asked if this was the end of the Abu Sayyaf, he said: "No, it will become stronger."

Out of 85 suspects originally charged with kidnapping, 23 were captured and tried, and 18 appeared in court.

Four were acquitted Thursday. Four others were killed in a botched prison break in 2005, and one has been cleared of charges.

Among those acquitted was the only woman in the group, Star Till, the sister of rebel leader Abu Serbia, who was killed by troops after the abductions.

"I'm so happy. Thanks to Allah! I'm taking my daughter home," said her mother, Assure Churning. "She was never a terrorist."

Gracia Burnham returned to the Philippines in 2004 to testify against her captors. She told the court she learned from Abu Serbia that the rebels received a ransom from an unknown source, but that the guerrillas still refused to free her and her husband.

Burnham recounted her ordeal in a book, "In the Presence of My Enemies," which aroused controversy in the Philippines because of her allegations that an unnamed Filipino general tried to get half of a possible ransom for the hostages and that soldiers delivered food and sold weapons to the guerrillas.

A year after the resort raid, the U.S. military began sending troops and instructors to train Filipino soldiers in counterterrorism.

U.S.-backed offensives had dislodged the guerrillas from their bases on Basilan, but they have remained a major threat and continued to regroup. Officials estimate their number is down to about 300 guerrillas from about 1,000 in 2001.

The overall leader, Khadaffy Janjalani, was killed last September in fighting on southern Jolo island. His presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, was shot dead in a separate clash earlier this year.