http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22320077

Anyone else think an individual would still be rotting there?

They are clearly more interested in money than their "cause". So more criminal than terrorist.

Oh, you can do both...

Kidnapping, drug running and so on are very handy ways to fund political revolution. They are common across all the less developed regions of the world because such movements need a lot of cash. They retain large retinues of full time staff; need lots of expensive but disposable equipment; and tend to have reason to issue lots of bribes among other things.

For that reason it's advisable to starve them of funds, but that would leave a fairly bleak outlook for any poor souls who falls into their hands.

Yes many use the political cause as a way of getting special treatment if caught.