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 others 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. This list looks at 10 modern examples of hostage taking.
10. Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian-French politician, former
senator, anti-corruption activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces
six and a half years later on 2 July 2008. The rescue operation, dubbed
Operation Jaque, rescued Betancourt along with 14 other hostages (three
Americans and 11 Colombian policemen and soldiers). In all, she was held
captive for 2,321 days after being taken while campaigning for the
Colombian presidency as a Green. She had decided to campaign in rebel
controlled areas despite warnings from the government, police and
military not to do so. Her kidnapping received worldwide coverage,
particularly in France, because of her dual French citizenship. She has
received multiple international awards, such as the Légion d’honneur. In
2008 she received the Concord Prince of Asturias Award.
9. Terry Anderson
On March 16, 1985, Terry Anderson had just finished a tennis game
when he was abducted from the street in Beirut, placed in the trunk of a
car and taken to a secret location where he was imprisoned. For the
next six years and nine months he was held captive, being moved
periodically to new sites. His captors were a group of Hezbollah Shiite
Muslims who were supported by Iran in supposed retaliation for Israel’s
use of U.S. weapons and aid in its 1982-83 strikes against Muslim and
Druze targets in Lebanon. Several other U.S. citizens were held at the
same time. At first Anderson was held alone, though he became aware that
other captives were also nearby. Anderson was the last hostage to be
accounted for, finally being released December 4, 1991 to a joyful
reunion with his family. His daughter Sulome Anderson was born three
months after his capture and had not seen her father until this point.
8. Iran Hostage Crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the
United States where 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days
from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist
students took over the American embassy in support of the Iranian
revolution. The episode reached a climax when after failed attempts to
negotiate a release, the United States military attempted a rescue
operation, Operation Eagle Claw, on April 24, 1980, which resulted in an
aborted mission, the crash of two aircraft and the deaths of eight
American service members and one Iranian civilian. It ended with the
signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The
hostages were formally released into United States custody the following
day, just minutes after the new American president Ronald Reagan was
sworn in.
7. Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst, now known as Patricia Hearst Shaw, is an American
newspaper heiress, socialite, and occasional actress. The granddaughter
of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and great-granddaughter of
self-made millionaire George Hearst, she gained notoriety in 1974 when,
following her kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), she
ultimately joined her captors in furthering their cause. Apprehended
after having taken part in a bank robbery with other SLA members, Hearst
was imprisoned for almost two years before her sentence was commuted by
President Jimmy Carter. She was later granted a presidential pardon by
President Bill Clinton in his last official act before leaving office.
Hearst’s actions have often been attributed to Stockholm syndrome, in
which hostages sympathize with the aims of their captors.
6. Moscow theater hostage crisis
The Moscow theatre hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost
siege, was the seizure of a crowded Moscow theatre on October 23, 2002
by about 40-50 armed Chechen rebel fighters who claimed allegiance to
the separatist movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded
the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second
Chechen War. The siege was officially led by Movsar Barayev. After a
two-and-a-half day siege, Russian Spetsnaz forces pumped an unknown
chemical agent into the building’s ventilation system and raided it.
Officially, 39 of the terrorists were killed by Russian forces, along
with at least 129 and possibly many more of the hostages (including nine
foreigners). All but one of the hostages who died during the siege were
killed by the toxic substance pumped into the theatre to subdue the
militants.
5. Beslan school hostage crisis
The Beslan school hostage crisis (also referred to as the Beslan
school siege or Beslan massacre) began when a group of armed
terrorists, demanding an end to the Second Chechen War, took more than
1,100 people, including some 777 children, hostage on September 1, 2004,
at School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania,
an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian
Federation. On the third day of the standoff, Russian security forces
stormed the building using tanks, thermobaric rockets and other heavy
weapons. The hostage taking was carried out by the Riyadus-Salikhin
Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs group lead by
Shamil Basayev who was an independent warlord at the time. The tragedy
led to security and political repercussions in Russia, most notably a
series of government reforms consolidating power in the Kremlin and
strengthening of the powers of President of Russia. As of 2008, there
are many aspects of the crisis still in dispute, including how many
militants were involved, their preparations, and whether some of them
had escaped. Questions about the government’s management of the crisis
have also persisted, including disinformation and censorship in news
media, repressions of journalists who rushed to Beslan, the nature and
content of negotiations with the militants, the responsibility for the
bloody outcome, and the government’s use of possibly excessive force.
4. Eloá Pimentel
The Eloá Pimentel hostage crisis refers to the kidnapping, hostage
situation and murder of Brazilian 15-year-old girl Eloá Cristina
Pimentel, which was accompanied by the shooting of her friend Nayara
Silva, both committed by Eloá’s ex-boyfriend Lidemberg Alves. The
incident received major media exposure not only because of the
shootings, but also because of the mistakes committed by the police of
São Paulo, and also because Eloá was held as a hostage for 100 hours –
the longest kidnapping ever registered in the state of São Paulo.
In October 13, 2008, Eloá Pimentel, Nayara da Silva and two friends
were working on a school project, when Eloás’ 22-year-old ex-boyfriend,
Lidemberg Fernandes Alves, broke into her apartment in Santo André,
holding a pistol. He soon released the two boys, but held Eloá and
Nayara. The GATE (Grupo de Ações Táticas Especiais, or Special Tactical
Actions Group) closely followed the case. On October 16, da Silva was
eventually released by Alves, but she was suggested by the police to
return to the apartment. She accepted, and was held hostage again. Hours
later, shots were heard coming from the apartment, and the GATE decided
to storm in the apartment. They eventually stopped and immobilized him,
but not before he could put two bullets in Eloá (one in the head and
other in the groin), and one in Nayara’s face. Eloá, severely wounded,
was taken to the hospital, but was brain dead due to brain damage and
died.
3. Gracia and Martin Burnham
The Burnhams were United States Protestant missionaries in the
Philippines with New Tribes Mission for 17 years from 1986. The couple
was among a larger group kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group, an Islamist
separatist terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines, on May
27, 2001. While most of the group were murdered by the kidnappers or
freed after ransoms were paid, the Burnhams were in captivity for a year
and a few days. The kidnappers demanded $1,000,000 for their release. A
ransom of $300,000 was paid, yet the kidnappers refused to release
them. During the eventual rescue attempt by the Philippine Army on June
7, 2002, Martin was killed by three gunshots in the chest and Gracia was
wounded in her right thigh. Since her release and the death of her
husband, Gracia Burnham has returned to the United States with their
three children. She has written two books about her experiences, In the
Presence of my Enemies (2003) and To Fly Again (2005). She has also set
up The Martin and Gracia Burnham Foundation.
2. Roy Hallums
Roy Hallums is an American contractor who was kidnapped in Iraq on
November 1, 2004. He was held in Iraq for 311 days and freed on
September 7, 2005. On November 1, 2004, 20 gunmen stormed the compound
where Hallums and his co-workers were working, in the upscale Mansour
District of Baghdad. Hallums was taken hostage along with Roberto
Tarongoy of the Philippines, Inus Dewari of Nepal, and three Iraqis.
Dewari and the Iraqis were later released soon after their abduction. A
videotape of Hallums was released by insurgents on January 25, 2005. It
is unclear when the tape was made. Hallums had a long beard, and was
seated with a gun pointed at his head. “I have been arrested by a
resistance group in Iraq,” Hallums said. “I am asking for help because
my life is in danger, because it has been proved that I work for
American forces.” Hallums didn’t appeal to American President Bush but
did to Libyan president Muammar al-Gaddafi to help earn his release.
Gaddafi later called for Hallum’s release. Hallums was freed on
September 7, 2005, along with an Iraqi captive, when American troops
raided a farmhouse 15 miles south of Baghdad. The location was
apparently given by an Iraqi detainee. When coalition troops arrived,
the kidnappers had fled.
Altogether, Roy Hallums had been captive ten months and seven days.
He said that he had been bound and gagged for much of the time, but
doctors described him as being in “good health.” After his release, he
called his daughter and identified himself by saying “This is Dad.” The
freed hostage also delivered this statement: “I want to thank all of
those who were involved in my rescue — to those who continuously tracked
my captors and location, and to those who physically brought me freedom
today. To all of you, I will be forever grateful.”
1. Father Lawrence Martin Jenco
Father Lawrence Martin Jenco, a native of Joliet, Illinois, was taken
hostage in Beirut by five armed men in January 1985, while serving as
director of Catholic Relief Services there. He was held for 564 days
before being released and allowed to return to the United States. In his
book, Bound to Forgive, Fr. Jenco relives his kidnapping and
imprisonment, and offers portraits of the Shiite Muslims who held him
captive. He also discusses how his faith sustained him. He spent much of
his time in prayer and meditation, making a rosary out of threads from a
sack, and celebrated clandestine Masses whenever he could. At times he
was imprisoned with other hostages (including Terry Anderson) who
worshiped together as “The Church of the Locked Door”. He spent much of
his time chained and blindfolded, and was allowed to use the toilet only
once a day. Fr. Jenco suffered serious eye infections and other health
problems as a result of his captivity. In changing from one hiding place
to another, he was bound with tape and placed in stifling hiding places
in trucks, lest he be found by soldiers or police inspecting a vehicle.
He also suffered beatings by the guards. Toward the end of his
captivity, Jenco was asked by one of his guards if he forgave his
captors. Fr. Jenco tells in his book that at that moment he realized
that he was being called to forgive, to “let go of revenge, retaliation
and vindictiveness”.
source : http://listverse.com/2009/04/17/10-famous-hostage-situations/
source : http://listverse.com/2009/04/17/10-famous-hostage-situations/
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