70-year-old Jurgen Kantner has been killed by the Abu Sayyaf militant group. Philippine and German officials have confirmed Mr. Kantner was the victim in a gruesome video that showed him get beheaded using a curved knife by militants. SITE Intelligence Group distributed the video. SITE monitors various jihadist websites.
Mr. Kantner was captured by the militants in November. This was when his 53-foot tall yacht, was assailed by Abu Sayyaf militants as it sailed through the Southern Philippines. This area is currently under the control of this terrorist group. He had been traveling with his partner at the time.
In a press release, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said, “The Federal Chancellor condemns the abominable act, which once again shows how unscrupulous and inhumane these terrorists are. We all must stand together and fight against them.”
The Presidential Peace Adviser for the Phillippines, Jesus Dureza, told the public that the government strongly condemned “the barbaric beheading of yet another kidnap victim.” He has also said through communication to various media that the Philippine government made all the efforts it could to save Mr. Kantner. The efforts included involving the Armed Forces of Philippines.
On November 7th, authorities found a dead woman still aboard the Rockfall. She was further confirmed to be Ms. Merz, Mr. Kantner’s partner. A media spokesman for Abu Sayyaf has accused her of shooting at them. This led to her being shot dead. Mr. Kantner’s capture is presumed to have occurred before or after her shooting. Abu Sayyaf was requesting a $600,000 ransom for Mr. Kantner’s safe release. In a video that was also distributed by SITE earlier this month, an old, bearded man, later confirmed to be Mr. Kantner, says that they will behead him soon if the governments did not pay the ransom.
The release of this new video that involves his beheading shows Mr. Kantner hog-tied and lay on the ground. Behind him stands a machete-wielding member of the militia. Faintly, he says, “Now they’ll kill me.” The video runs for less than two minutes.
This is not the first time that Mr. Kantner has been abducted by a terrorist group. In 2008, he and his partner were captured by terrorists in Somalia. They were held for 52 days until a ransom was reportedly paid by the German government. As a rule, the German government does not state how much is paid through ransoms. However, it is estimated that the ransom paid at the time is equal to the ransom Abu Sayyaf were requesting. The Philippine government does not pay ransom to terrorists under its laws.
Mr. Kantner stayed for four months in Germany trying to settle down financially. However, after a contact from Somali reaching out to him on the whereabouts of his boat, he went back to Somalia to regain its possession. Mr. Kantner was fully aware of the risks involved in his return but opted to press on with the idea, claiming he had spent more than three decades living on boats and could not live the rest of his life on land.
