A Norwegian former hostage on Sunday described his psychological torture as he heard his friends being beheaded by militants during a year-long captivity in the southern Philippines.
A heavily bearded and gaunt Kjartan Sekkingstad, who was released on Saturday by the feared Abu Sayyaf group, also said he narrowly survived military attacks against his captors, with a bullet piercing his backpack.
“Basically, I’ve been treated like a slave, carrying their stuff around, time to time abused,” a frail-looking Sekkingstad said as he was received by a government envoy in the town of Indanan on the forested island of Jolo.
Also released were three Indonesians held by the group, who were also turned over to envoy Jesus Dureza.
Sekkingstad told reporters he endured “psychological pressure,” with the Abu Sayyaf threatening several times to behead him.
Sekkingstad, then aged 56, was abducted in September 2015 from the high-end Philippine tourist resort which he managed and was taken to Jolo by the Abu Sayyaf.
Two Canadian resort guests captured with him, John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, were later beheaded by the group after a ransom demand of about 300 million pesos ($6.5 million) was not met.
Sekkingstad said that during the separate killings in April and June, the two handcuffed Canadians were escorted out of sight, “but still close enough that you could hear their cries when it happened.”
“It was devastating,” the visibly shaken Norwegian said.
Sekkingstad said he also survived numerous military attacks on his captors and even saved as a souvenir a bullet that went through his backpack.

Source: Arab News