Zakhvat zalozhnika

An examination of theoretical and practical issues in categorizing hostage-taking as a crime against public safety and distinguishing it from other crimes against the person, e.g., robbery and kidnapping. Special attention is given to the relationship between Russian and international anti-terrorist laws. The work discusses the history of efforts to combat hostage-taking; the objective features of the crime of hostage-taking as spelled out in article 206 of the criminal code of the Russian Federation; general and specific measures to prevent hostage-taking; investigation of hostage-taking cases. The appendix includes the text of the international convention on fighting hostage-taking; the European convention on fighting terrorism; the convention on fighting airplane hijacking (excerpt); and the Federal law on fighting terrorism.