Kidnappers have released the two Filipino crew members of Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani, just as reports surfaced that members of the Moro National Liberation Front have clashed with Abu Sayyaf in its bid to pressure the bandit group into releasing more of their captives.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed two Filipino members of a Jordanian TV journalist’s crew believed to have been kidnapped by the al-Qaida-linked militants in June last year as they set out to interview the extremists in their jungle lairs in the southern Philippines, police said Sunday.
Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani and his two Filipino companions – Ramelito Vela and Rolando Letrero – remain alive at the Abu Sayyaf lair in Sulu, where they have been held since June 12, according to sources.
House committee on national defense and security chairman Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon on Friday said that members of the media should no longer be allowed access to rebel camps.
The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) told the Bureau of Immigration that it cannot issue a certification on missing Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani because visiting journalists apply for accreditation with another organization.
Jordanian journalist Baker Abdullah Atyani didn’t have a working permit when he entered the Philippines, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said Wednesday.
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said Wednesday he would rather not make any more comment on the real status of Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani and his two other Filipino companions.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Tuesday said he was still unconvinced that a Jordanian TV reporter and two Filipino cameramen were really being held hostage by Islamic extremists in Sulu but the military would launch rescue operations if they are ordered to do so by the crisis management committee in Sulu.
Jordanian journalist Baker Abdulla Atyani and two Filipino television crew members who were allegedly abducted by the Abu Sayyaf were seen roaming around rebel camps in Sulu, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Tuesday.
Police forces have been dispatched to locate the Jordanian journalist and his two Filipino crew being held by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu.
President Benigno Aquino III on Monday said that a Jordanian journalist and his two Filipino crewmen would have not ended up being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo had the foreigner not deceived authorities about his intention to interview the terror group.
Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron is holding Jordanian journalist and his two Filipino companions, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said.
