Kidnap & Ransom - Overview
"Hostage is a crucifying aloneness. There’s a silent, screaming slide into the bowels of ultimate despair. Hostage is a man hanging by his fingernails over the edge of chaos and feeling his fingers slowly straightening.”
Brian Keenan, an Irishman kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon, in :
Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years by Terry Anderson, (Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1993).
Overview
Kidnapping for ransom as a terrorist, criminal or subversive action has become a widespread phenomenon. What is more, it success means that it serves as one of the main methods of funding criminal & terrorist organizations.
Precise statistics concerning the scope of this global trend are lacking, mainly due to many unreported incidents, but the extent of the phenomenon has increased significantly over the past decade, with thousands of kidnappings occurring yearly.
Regions at risk
The regions where kidnap & ransom is most widespread are those in which the law enforcement agencies and local legal systems are unable to cope with it effectively. The regions of highest concern include: South America, East Asia, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and certain areas in Africa.
Management
Managing a kidnapping or hostage crisis entails minimizing the risks to the captive(s) and forming options for safe release. This is usually done by negotiating an agreed release, and occasionally by enabling a rescue or escape.
Risk
Based on past case studies, maximum risk to the life of the hostage(s) is reached when the kidnappers conclude that the probability of compliance with their demands are low and that keeping hold of the captive(s) poses a high risk to their cause.
We know that even if there is a willingness to adhere to the kidnappers' demands, it may fail to solve the crisis and can actually lead to additional demands and further risks.
Objective
The objective at all times is to keep the hostage(s) alive and to arrange a release as rapidly as possible, while minimizing the consequences to the client and the family.
Why Alcyon?
Intimate familiarity with Middle Eastern countries and cultures provides Alcyon with its proven edge in the field of KHED crises.
To this can be added extensive experience in negotiation with militant Islamic organizations; specific linguistic knowledge and proficiency; close contacts with international law enforcement agencies; special methods for generating intelligence from open sources; and the proven record of advising political and business decision makers during times of crises.
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Crisis Management services