Robert Ward Hall (5 November 1949 – 13 June 2016) was a Canadian citizen kidnapped by

Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; , ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, was a Jihadist militant and piracy, pirate group that followed the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It was based in and around Jolo and B ...

terrorists in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

on 21 September 2015, and beheaded nine months later near

Patikul, Sulu Patikul, officially the Municipality of Patikul ( Tausūg: ''Kawman sin Patikul''; ), is a municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 79,564 people. The provincial capitol and offices a ...

Early life and career

Hall was born in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta. One of five siblings, he grew up in the city's Midnapore district. A welder by trade, Hall was also an experienced pilot and an amateur actor.

Kidnapping and death

Hall was kidnapped for ransom by

militants in the

on 21 September 2015 in a raid on Holiday Ocean View Samal Resort on

Samal Island Samal, officially the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCOS; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it ...

near Davao in the southern Philippines. After gunmen disarmed the resort's security guards, four people were abducted: Canadians Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, resort marina manager Kjartan Sekkingstad (Norway), and Teresita Flor (Hall's Filipina girlfriend) who was released later in the month that Hall was beheaded. Abu Sayyaf demanded $6 million for Hall's ransom. Negotiations for his release failed, and Hall was beheaded on 13 June 2016. The last of this hostage group, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, was released in September 2016. Hall's sister then felt free to speak openly and criticize the failure of the government of Canada to do anything decisive or effective to attempt rescue or save her brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Robert 2016 deaths People murdered in the Philippines Canadian people murdered abroad Abu Sayyaf Filmed executions Canadian terrorism victims 1949 births