OWN CORRESPONDENT, Helsinki | Tuesday
ONE or more of the women among the hostages recently released by the Abu Sayyaf group on the Philippine island of Jolo was raped by the rebels, released Finnish hostage Risto Vahanen has revealed to Finnish television MTV3.
The hostages included South African couple Callie and Monique Strydom.
“We talked it over with the women to see if that should be publicised. They decided that it must be revealed – without any names given – so that the whole world knows,” Vahanen said in the report.
“That was without a doubt the worst thing that happened there. It’s really surprising because the rest of us were relatively well treated,” he said, adding that the male hostages had no way of defending the women.
Vahanen, who was released at the weekend with fellow Finn Seppo Fraenti, Frenchman Stephane Loisy and German Marc Wallert, said: “Everybody knew that if we became aggressive about it the response would have been even rougher.”
Marc Wallert said he had saved one of the women, French-Lebanese hostage Marie-Michele Moarbes, from being raped by pretending he was her husband.
He said the Muslim rebels stopped harassing her after he convinced them they were together.
In addition to Monique Strydom, Sonia Wendling of France, German Renate Wallert, Moarbes of dual French and Lebanese nationality and Maryse Burgot, a French television reporter who was kidnapped while covering the abduction story, were held by the rebels.
“I do not know how to describe the experience. I will never forget it as long as I am alive,” Wendling said after her release.
Asked shortly after her release whether the women had been sexually abused, Wendling said: “I do not want to talk about this. I have nothing to say about this.”