Hostage

The English word hostage derives from French , modern , from Late Latin (Medieval Latin ), the state of being an (plural ), , and European colonial powers, would especially receive many such political hostages, often offspring of the elite, even princes or princesses who were generally treated according to their rank and put to a subtle long-term use where they would be given an elitist education or possibly even a religious conversion. This would eventually influence them culturally and open the way for an amicable political line if they ascended to power after release. Sometimes when a man from one nation was hostage in another nation, his position as hostage was more or less voluntary: for example the position of Æscferð son of Ecglāf, who was a Northumbrian hostage in Wessex; he fought under Byrhtnōð against Vikings in the Battle of Maldon on 10 August 991 AD (ref. lines 265 etseq), and probably died in battle there. In Greek, 'Ομηρος means "Homer" and also "hostage", a coincidence which is part of the debate over Homer's identity. was an Old English word for "hostages", demonstrating that the practice was commonplace in England long before the word "hostage" was coined. The Anglo-Saxon practice caused the element gīsl = "hostage" in many old Germanic personal names, such as Ēadgils, Cynegils, Gīslheard, and Gīslbeorht. This has been imported into placenames derived from personal names, for example Isleworth in west London (UK) from Old English Gīslheres wyrð (= "enclosure belonging to [a man called] Gīslhere"). , Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon The practice of taking hostages is very ancient, and has been used constantly in negotiations with conquered nations, and in cases such as surrenders, armistices and the like, where the two belligerents depended for its proper carrying out on each other's good faith. The Romans were accustomed to take the sons of tributary princes and educate them at Rome, thus holding a security for the continued loyalty of the conquered nation and also instilling a possible future ruler with ideas of Roman civilization. On the other hand, it has been urged that the acts, the prevention of which is aimed at, are not legitimate acts on the part of the armed forces of the enemy, but illegitimate acts by private persons, who, if caught, could be quite lawfully punished, and that a precautionary and preventive measure is more reasonable than reprisals. It may be noticed, however, that the hostages would suffer should the acts aimed at be performed by the authorized belligerent forces of the enemy. == Legality of hostage-taking ==

Taking hostages in modern terms is considered a crime or an act of terrorism; the use of the word in this sense of abductee became current only in the 1970s. The criminal activity is known as kidnapping. An acute situation where hostages are kept in a building or a vehicle that has been taken over by armed terrorists or common criminals is often called a hostage crisis. Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions states that the taking of hostages during an internal conflict is a war crime and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever. In international conflicts, Articles 34 and 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention state that using protected civilians as hostages is a grave breach of the convention. These conventions are supplemented by Article 75(2)(c) of Additional Protocol I in international conflicts and Article 4(2)(c) of Additional Protocol II in internal conflicts. The International Convention against the Taking of Hostages—which prohibits hostage-taking and mandates the punishment of hostage-takers—was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. The treaty came into force in 1983 and has been ratified by all but 24 of the member states of the United Nations. Hostage-taking is still often politically motivated or intended to raise a ransom or to enforce an exchange against other hostages or even condemned convicts. However, in some countries hostage-taking for profit has become an "industry", ransom often being the only demand. Hostage taking within diplomacy Hostage-taking in the United States Hostage Taking Act The United States makes hostage-taking a federal criminal offense pursuant to . Generally, the Act applies to conduct occurring within the territory of the United States. However, under Subsection B, an offender may be indicted under the Act even if the hostage-taking occurred outside the territory of the United States if the "offender or the person seized or detained is a national of the United States; the offender is found in the United States; or the governmental organization sought to be compelled is the Government of the United States." These provisions are consistent with the fundamental principles of international criminal law, specifically active nationality principle, universal principle, and the effects principle, respectively. 18 USC 1203: Hostage Taking Act agents Title 18 of the United States Code criminalizes hostage-taking under "18 USC 1203: Hostage Taking Act", which reads: The Hostage Taking Act is a subsection of the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages. It became enforceable in the United States January 6, 1985. ==Ransom payment strategies==

The United States has had an official policy of "we do not negotiate with terrorists" since the Nixon Administration. This applies to designated international terrorist groups, but not domestic kidnappers, foreign governments, or international organized crime. The United Kingdom has a similar policy, but many continental European countries, including France and Spain, routinely pay ransom. The former head of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Joel Simon, found that evidence suggests this policy has reduced the number of Americans who survive kidnapping but has not reduced the number who are kidnapped in the first place. Spain retrieves all of its hostages with a policy of paying ransoms, but in the United States only about one quarter survive. Simon says that terrorists exploit these policy differences by making money from countries who do pay ransom, and using those that do not pay ransom to demonstrate their willingness to kill hostages and thus raise ransom prices and public pressure to pay. In the absence of a universal refusal to pay, which would eliminate any incentive for kidnapping, Simon says the best way to reduce kidnappings and prevent the use of ransom funds to fund other harmful activities is to pay ransom, free the hostages and then use the information gleaned from the negotiation and handoff to destroy the group responsible. == Notable hostages crises ==

in Tel Aviv in 2023. Several hostage crises have stood out in history due to their impact, duration, and the international attention they garnered. Some notable crises include: • The Munich massacre (1972) - During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September took eleven Israeli Olympic team members hostage and killed them along with a West German police officer. • The Norrmalmstorg robbery (23-28 August 1973) - Four bank employees and civilians were taken hostages by Jan-Erik Olsson in kreditbanken while he was in parole, two police officers were injured while trying to communicate with the robber. It is best known as the origin of the term Stockholm syndrome. • The Iranian Embassy Siege (1980) - A group of six armed men stormed the Iranian Embassy on Prince's Gate in South Kensington, London. The gunmen, Iranian Arabs, took 26 people hostage, including embassy staff, several visitors and a Metropolitan Police officer. The crisis ended with the Special Air Service (SAS) storming the building, killing 5 of the 6 gunmen. • The Air France Flight 8969 (Operation rock climber) Hijack (1994) was a plane hijack that lasted 3 days. GIA Terrorists who dressed up as officers hijacked the Air flight, their motivation was to release their prisoners in Algeria and potentially crash the plane to the eiffel tower. The GIGN stormed the plane neutralizing all but one of the terrorists. The Operation was a success. • The Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981) - Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for 444 days. The crisis ended with the hostages' release, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the U.S. president. • The Japanese embassy hostage crisis(1996-1997) - Members of terrorist organization MRTA in Peru took hundreds of hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima. The siege lasted 126 days and ended with a government raid, which resulted in the deaths of all the insurgents and one hostage. • The Moscow theater hostage crisis (2002) - Chechen terrorists took 850 hostages during a performance at the Dubrovka Theater. Russian forces pumped narcotic gas into the building before storming it, which led to the deaths of at least 170 people, including 130 hostages. • The Beslan school siege (2004) - Over 1,100 people were taken hostage, including 777 children, after armed Chechen separatists seized a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia. The crisis lasted three days and ended with over 330 deaths, including 186 children. • The In Amenas hostage crisis (2013) - An al-Qaeda affiliated group took over 800 people hostage at the Tigantourine gas facility in In Amenas, Algeria. The Algerian army's intervention resulted in at least 39 foreign hostages killed along with 29 militants. • The Gaza war hostage crisis (2023-) - 251 Israeli civilians and soldiers, dual citizens, and foreign nationals were taken as hostages by Hamas to the Gaza Strip, of which the number of kidnapped children was about 30. As of October 31, all 20 living hostages have been released from captivity, with 13 deceased bodies still being held captive. == Notable hostages ==

Pre-1900 • Philip II of Macedon (382 BC – 336 BC), held as hostage by the Thebes, led by Epaminondas and Pelopidas. • Polybius (200 BC – 118 BC), Greek historian • Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC) • Niall of the nine hostages (400) • Theodoric the Great (454 – 526) • Richard I of England (1157 – 1199), Richard the Lionheart, English king returning from the Third Crusade • Vlad the Impaler ( – 1477), and his brother Radu were held as hostages by the Ottoman Sultan during their childhood to guarantee the co-operation of their father • Atahualpa ( – 1533) • Henry II (1519 – 1559), and his brother Francis were hostages of Emperor Charles V for three years during their childhood to ensure that their father abided by the Treaty of Madrid (1526) • Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543 – 1616), first Tokugawa shogun of Japan, spent his childhood as a hostage • Miguel de Cervantes ( – 1616), author of Don Quixote 1900 - present • Terry A. Anderson • Ingrid Betancourt • Patty Hearst • Terry Waite • John McCarthy • Jaycee Lee Dugard • Íngrid Betancourt • Austin Tice == See also ==