Indonesian sailor escapes from Abu Sayyaf captor
Jakarta, 14 Dhulqa’dah 1437/17 August 2016 (MINA) – Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed an Indonesian kidnap victim escaped Wednesday morning from his Abu Sayyaf captors in a mangrove in Luuk town in Sulu.
“This morning we got the information about the free of one sailor of Charles ship namely Mohammed Sofyan held hostage in the southern Philippines, “said Director of Citizens and Legal Entities Protection of Foreign Ministry Muhammad Iqbal.
Iqbal said the ministry immediately coordinated with the Philippine Government. “Currently Sofyan was in the hands of Sulu Police,” he said.
Sofyan was found about 7:30 a.m. along the shore of Barangay Bual in Luuk, according to Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).
Tan said Sofyan disclosed that the Abu Sayyaf group declared that they would execute him, prompting him to try to escape in the mangroves between the areas of barangays Bual and Bato-Itum.
He said that residents saw Sofyan near the shore trapped among fishnets. They immediately brought him to the municipal police station in Luuk.
Tan said Sofyan was later brought to the Sulu Provincial Police Office for processing and documentation before he will be sent home to his family.
Sofyan, 26, was among the seven crew members of a tugboat that an Abu Sayyaf-linked kidnapping group seized in the Sulu Sea on June 23. The tugboat, which was towing a barge, was sailing to Indonesia from the Philippines.
Sofyan’s companions ship captain Feri Arifin, Muhammad Mahbrur Dahri, Edy Suryono, Ismail, Robin Peter and Muhammad Nasir are still in Abu Sayyaf custody.
The military identified those responsible in the abduction as the Tawi-Tawi-based Muktadil Brothers. The group kidnaps crews and transfers their victims to the Abu Sayyaf group.
According to reports on the ground, the Abu Sayyaf demanded a ransom of 20 million Indonesian Ringgit, around P70,000, for the release of the Indonesian hostages.
Tan said troops from Joint Task Force Sulu are scouring the area to track down the remaining hostages and rescue them.(L/R04/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
