A German man held captive by Islamist militants in the southern Philippines said Wednesday his captors had dug a grave for him in preparation for his execution if a ransom was not paid, according to a radio interview.
The man, aged 74, said the Abu Sayyaf militants had pushed him into a hole 1.5 metres wide and 3 metres deep that they had dug in the jungles of Jolo Island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila.
“I am sitting here in an earth hole,” he told DXRZ, a radio station in nearby Zamboanga City. “They told me this is my grave. They pushed me inside this hole and I am sitting with 10 men around me all day, 24 hours a day,” he said in English.
The man said he had been separated from his wife, a 55-year-old German woman, for the past 24 hours.
The couple were abducted in April while sailing from the western province of Palawan to Malaysia.
The Abu Sayyaf has demanded 250 million pesos (5.6 million dollars) in ransom and for Germany to withdraw its support for the US attacks against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
A spokesman said the militants would behead one of the two hostages on October 17, at 3 pm (0700 GMT) if the demands were not met.
“The Abu Sayyaf has repeated their demands,” the German man said. “They wish to get the money. They want the Philippine government to withdraw the troops.”
Last week, the Philippine military deployed a team of 100 soldiers from the army’s Special Operations Command and canine tracking units to Jolo in a bid to contain the militants in a small area.
Armed forces chief of staff General Gregorio Catapang rejected the withdrawal of the troops.
“We will not do that, that is non-negotiable,” he said. “If they want, they should release the Germans first and then we will pull out.
The German man reiterated his appeal for their freedom: “Please do everything to get us out (of) here. It is living hell.”
If the demands were not met, he said, “They told me that on Friday, 3 o’clock, they will kill me.”
Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami said they were open to negotiating for the release of the German hostages with the chief of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
He said they do not trust other government officials.
“The only one we know who is not tainted with corruption is the administrator of the DFA,” he told DXRZ. “That’s who we want to talk with us about our demands.”
Charles Jose, spokesman for the department headed by Secretary Albert del Rosario, says Rami’s statement would have to be verified.
Aside from the German couple, the Abu Sayyaf militants are believed to be holding 10 other captives, including two birdwatchers from the Netherlands and Swizerland and two Malaysians.
GNA
