Jürgen Kantner

Jürgen Gustav Kantner (1946 – 26 February 2017) was a German sailor who was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines.

Biography First abduction In 2008, he and his wife were also taken from their yacht, Rockall, and held captive in Somalia by Al-Shabaab for 52 days before their captors freed them in return for a large ransom paid by the Federal Government of Germany. After being returned to Germany, Kantner criticized his rescue, as he believed paying ransoms increased the risk to other sailors of being captured. He then started planning to recapture his boat back from the Somali pirates who had captured him. He returned by land and air to Somalia, and stole his boat back from the same beach where he was taken to as a captive.

Second abduction On 5 November 2016, Jürgen and his wife Sabine Merz were attacked while sailing off the coast of the Philippines and Malaysia.