By Brian Anderson
Valley Times

April 20, 2001

OAKLAND — A man held hostage in the Philippines for nearly eight months went to the camp of the Islamic kidnappers to answer accusations that he and his wife were having a religiously-illegal sexual relationship, he said Thursday.

In an email statement released Thursday, Jeffrey Schilling said Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya, who also is the cousin of Schilling’s wife Ivy Osani,, wrongfully accused the newlyweds of breaking Muslim law.

“Some of the relatives of my wife had been accusing us of an illicit sexual relationship,” Schilling said in an e-mail statement. “We went to Jolo to resolve a personal, family matter, which was made into an international circus by the greed of Abu Sabaya.”

He did not explain specifics of the accusations, when they were first raised or whether they had something to do with his abduction. He denied the allegations, however, saying Sabaya had not produced any evidence or witnesses backing his contentions.

Schilling, who returned to the Bay Area Wednesday, could not be reached for comment. He wrote in the email that he could not talk to reporters “due to the stress of being separated from” Osani, adding that he would comment after they were reunited and “had some time to recover.”

His mother Carol Schilling, who had asked the Abu Sayyaf multiple times to release her only child, also could not be reached for comment.

Schilling and Osani, identified in one news report as the widow of a rebel killed several years ago, were married sometime last summer after meeting in the spring. Schilling arrived in the Philippines in March of last year.

One Philippines official has said Schilling might have sympathized with the rebel group or been a supplier of military supplies. Those charges were dismissed by many in the island country and the United States as preposterous.

News reports released shortly after his Aug. 28 kidnapping indicated Schilling, who was rescued earlier this month, had argued about religion with Sabaya after visiting the camp on Jolo island in the southern Philippines. The accounts did not cite details of the argument, but reported that it was the reason behind his capture.

Ali Sheikholesalmi, a volunteer at the Islamic Center of Northern California in Oakland, said Sabaya’s charge was very serious and backed Schilling’s note that punishment for the misdeed is 100 lashes or even death by stoning.

“Any relationship outside of marriage is not allowed,” he said.

While the charge is considered grave, it is difficult to prove.

“There are very high standards for proving these things,” Sheikholesalmi said, adding that a trial-like process is held in a venue similar to a court. “You need something like four witnesses who say these things have happened.”

Sheikholesalmi added that the accuser can face a lashing and be permanently discredited if he fails to prove his charges, supporting Schilling’s similar statements in the email.

“(Sabaya) … has violated the laws of Islam and should be punished,” Schilling wrote.