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Legal Terms – Hostage
A person forcibly detained as security or leverage. Under the Taking of Hostages Act 1982, it is a serious criminal offence—punishable by up to life imprisonment—to seize or detain a person anywhere in the world with threats to harm them in order to compel a state, organisation, or individual to act or refrain from acting.
This offence is extraditable, but prosecutions require the Attorney General’s consent. Related offences include hijacking and kidnapping.
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