This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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The family of a Canadian man abducted and recently killed by ISIS-linked militants in the Philippines, 66-year-old Robert Hall, have fearlessly supported the stance of the Canadian government to not pay ransom for hostages. Hall was kidnapped with one fellow Canadian, John Ridsdel, a Norwegian man and a Filipina by Abu Sayyaf militants from an upscale resort in September 2015. Abu Sayyaf has been waging a small but horrifically violent Islamist insurgency in the southwestern Philippines since 1991.
Back in April, the militant outfit beheaded 68-year-old Ridsdel after a multi-million dollar ransom demand was not met by the Canadian government. Now recently, Hall met the same grisly fate on Monday. However, Hall’s family mentioned in a press statement issued on Tuesday that “please know that the efforts taken to free Robert were vast and exhaustive,” adding that “every option was considered, every contact was sought. Ultimately, our efforts, and those of the various governmental agencies involved, weren’t enough. However; our family, even in our darkest hour, agrees wholeheartedly with Canada’s policy of not paying ransom to those who would seek to undermine the fundamental values with which my father lived his life.”
The family also mentioned in their statement that “Robert will continue to live on in our hearts and minds, in our memories, in our children, and in the very manner in which we live our lives. Don’t forget him. And don’t forget about the other families who continue to suffer through these circumstances. To the Ridsdels, the Sekkingstads and the Flors; we stand with you in your time of grief and struggle, as your loved one stood with our Robert.”
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