Hostage crisis - Citizendia

Hostage crisis refers to a terrorist or a criminal, surrounded by people, tries to hold off the authorities by force, it is considered a "barricaded suspect" situation. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment A barricade is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control block passage or force the flow of Traffic in the desired direction When a person/s holds others against their will, but keeps them hidden, it is simple kidnapping. In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment A hostage crisis develops when the kidnapper barricades himself along with his prisoners, threatening to kill them if they are provoked or attacked.

Typically, the hostage-taker issues demands to the forces keeping him surrounded. A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security In a planned hostage crisis, there is often a list of political or religious demands, often including the release of imprisoned friends or allies. In cases where the hostage situation was improvised as a desperate attempt to avoid capture, the demands usually revolve around exchanging the lives of the hostages for transport to safety.

For a list of hostage crisis events, see the list of hostage crises. This is a list of Hostage crises by date

Journalists often prefer to use the term "siege" to describe these incidents. However, events like the Waco Siege are not necessarily hostage crises, because third parties are not being held or threatened. The Waco Siege (also known as the Waco Massacre) took place on February 28

See also