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K&R News

2014-06-06 | Giving In to Terrorist Demands 'Perpetuates the Action' of Kidnappings
A reporter asked spokesperson Jen Psaki about a UN resolution to discourage private companies from paying ransom to terrorists for the release of kidnap victims. The reporter said that "basically, these companies paying a ransom through their own insurance is really one of the only ways that we’ve seen success of release of these kidnapping victims." Despite the apparent "success," Psaki told the reporter that giving in to the terrorists' demands simply "perpetuates the action":

2014-05-30 | Chinese, Filipino kidnapped in Malaysia rescued
Two Philippine security officials who have been monitoring kidnappings in the south confirmed the two women had been released by Abu Sayyaf militants in Parang township in the southern Philippine province of Sulu after a series of negotiations. The two were served lunch by local police and then escorted out of Sulu on board a speedboat back to Sabah, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

2014-05-29 | Kidnapping for ransom and extortion on increase in emerging markets
With kidnapping incidents in the spotlight right now, kidnap for ransom and extortion (KRE) insurance is increasingly becoming part of the corporate insurance arsenal, no longer seen as standalone cover by corporates, but as a part of the complete duty of care for their employees. “There is estimated to be between 15 000 to 20 000 kidnap for ransom and extortion incidents every year, but the reality is that many more go unreported."

2014-05-28 | Abu Sayyaf militants free Filipino businesswoman who had been held in jungle for 3 months
Abu Sayyaf militants freed a businesswoman Wednesday by abandoning her near an airport in the southern Philippines after holding her in the jungle for more than three months, officials said.

2014-05-27 | Atlanta man describes kidnap, torture in Nigeria
But, before the rented guns came into the conversation, Ordu was tortured, beaten, and interrogated daily about where his family was and how much money they could pay for a ransom. "They started burning me with cigarettes, punching me in the face, I was blindfolded. I was blind for nine days. They never took it off my face," Ordu said. "I didn't see sky or sun until the day I was released. They kept asking where is my wife, where is my family, if I don't tell them where my family is they are going to slaughter me and throw my body in the front of the university."

2014-05-25 | My interview with a private hostage negotiator
Met with a very unusual gentleman recently, smartly dressed who turns out to be a real life kidnap negotiator. You would, of course never know it by looking at him that he did this kind of work. The man, in his late 50′s had read some of my articles online and expressed an interest in my doing an article on hostage negotiation. Why he chose me I’m not exactly sure. He could have been interviewed by any news organization I’m sure.

2014-05-25 | On the subtleties of establishing “proof of life” during a hostage negotiation for ransom
For example, you never want to be put into a situation where your paying ransom for someone who has already killed or murdered the victim. And this happens a lot within the industry more than you can imagine. I guess the true test of any negotiator is found in how they go about establishing proof of life or evidence of possession during the negotiations with hostage takers.

2014-05-22 | In Syria, Militants Revive Kidnapping for Ransom
A multitude of rebel brigades with disparate ideologies, religious interpretations, leaders and foreign patrons are fighting against the Syrian regime. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is one such force, having grown more prominent since it announced its entrance onto the Syrian battlefield in 2013. Not only has the group distinguished itself militarily, it is also one of the only transnational groups fighting in Syria and it adheres to a strict Salafist-jihadist ideology that causes its tactics, terms of governance and proclaimed goals to differ greatly from those of most other rebel brigades. As we have discussed before, the tactics used by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant are much more austere than those of its counterparts, and focus more on the group's overarching aspirations to establish an Islamic emirate in the Levant and control vast swaths of territory rather than on merely defeating loyalist forces and overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

2014-05-22 | DNA sampling not enough
The roundtable titled "No Grave to Grieve: The Search for Missing Garment Workers and the Challenges of DNA Technology in Bangladesh" was organised by a group of researchers under the banner of Activist Anthropologist at The Daily Star Centre in the capital. Around three-fourths of the Rana Plaza victims were handed over to families based on visual identification marks like shoes, clothes or mobile phones, said Prof Sharif. "It is very likely that family members of the victims took away the wrong bodies as they identified those based on visual identification marks only," he said, adding that the NFDPL had so far identified 206 Rana Plaza victims, while 105 bodies were still unidentified. In the case of tragedies like the abovementioned two, the authorities concerned should set up makeshift morgues at the site to collect DNA samples, he suggested.

2014-05-21 | Mexico Authorities Rescue 35 Kidnapping Victims
The kidnap victims were given medical and psychological attention because they showed signs of severe malnutrition and had injuries from being kept in inhumane conditions by their captors, the office said. The criminal group that kidnapped the 35 people has a presence in the towns of Apaxtla, Arcelia, Cocula and Teloloapan. Authorities didn't identify the gang. In the nearby city of Iguala, Guerrero state authorities found several graves containing nine bodies, officials said. State prosecutors said in a statement that investigators found the graves Wednesday in the neighborhood of Lomas del Zapatero after receiving an anonymous tip. Last month, police found the bodies of nine other people in San Miguelito, another Iguala neighborhood.