Abu Sayyaf Leader Sentenced to 23 Years for 1995 Hostage Taking

A notorious Abu Sayyaf leader has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for his role in the 1995 kidnapping of 16 people, including four U.S. citizens, in the Philippines.

Madhatta Asagal Haipe, 48, was extradited to the United States from the Philippines in 2009 and pleaded guilty to four counts of hostage taking in connection with the December 27, 1995, abduction near Lake Sebu in southern Mindanao.

According to the factual proffer in support of the guilty plea, Haipe was the general secretary of the Abu Sayyaf Group, or second-in-command, under the Amir (leader) of the group at the time of the hostage taking.

Haipe admitted that he and his group kidnapped the 16 individuals, including six children, and forced them to march up a mountainside. The hostages were later released after a ransom was paid, totaling at least one million Filipino pesos (equivalent to about $38,000 U.S. dollars, at the time).

Many of the victims of this crime came to Washington for today’s sentencing, which was announced by Assistant Attorney General David Kris, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., and FBI Interim Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn.

‘I applaud the FBI agents, Justice prosecutors and authorities in the Philippines who relentlessly pursued this matter on behalf of the victims who were held hostage and threatened with death by this Abu Sayyaf leader,’ Kris said.

Haipe was indicted for this crime by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in November 2000. The case was pursued by the FBI and authorities in the Philippines, with the cooperation of the U.S. government.

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