17 Abu Sayyaf members receive life sentences for 2000 Malaysian resort kidnapping.

Seventeen members of the Abu Sayyaf militant group were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Philippine court for the 2000 kidnapping of 21 individuals from a Malaysian resort. The victims faced months of captivity before being ransomed. The militants were found guilty of multiple counts of kidnapping and were ordered to pay 300,000 pesos (about $5,235) in damages to each victim. They could not be charged with terrorism due to the absence of relevant laws at the time.