OTTAWA: Relatives of a Canadian man beheaded by Islamic militants in the Philippines said Tuesday that they agree with Canada’s policy of not paying ransom for hostages.
Robert Hall had been held hostage by the militant Abu Sayyaf group since September 2015. The deadline for a ransom payment passed Monday, and Abu Sayyaf released a gruesome video of Hall’s beheading. It shows Hall in an orange shirt kneeling in front of a black Islamic State-style flag in a jungle area before he was killed. Officials in the Philippines have confirmed his death.