The government of the Philippines has confirmed that Robert Hall is dead. The Canadian was captured along with several others by a militant organization almost a year ago. President Benigno Aquino confirmed on Tuesday that Hall had been beheaded by Abu Sayyaf militants who captured him and held him hostage before executing him, AP reported. “We strongly condemn the brutal and senseless murder of Mr. Robert Hall, a Canadian national, after being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu for the past nine months,” Aquino said in a statement. Hall was abducted in September 2015 at a tourist resort by Abu Sayyaf, which has been deemed a terrorist organization by Canada, the US and the UN, along with three other people. Among the other captives were a Norwegian, a Filipino and another Canadian, John Ridsdel, who was beheaded back in April. Efforts by the Filipino government to defeat the terrorist group proved futile, and on Monday Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had refused to pay the 300 million Philippine peso ($6.5 million) ransom demanded by the group.
