Algorithm of behavior and actions during hostage taking

Assessing the terrorist's physical and emotional state

Depending on the situation, the extent to which the behavior and personality of the offender is assessed may vary. If the hostage has the opportunity to take a close look at the person’s behavior, then it is worth assessing in detail his emotional state and physical parameters. However, often in a hostage situation, there is a threat of violence in which it is important to determine the extent of the threat.

The degree of threat must be determined taking into account the personality classification:

• Mentally normal person without behavioral peculiarities.
• A mentally normal person in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication.
• A person with obvious mental deviations expressed in behavior.

When assessing the condition of a criminal who has taken hostages, you need to understand whether there is a risk of attack on his part at the moment. If such a threat exists, the first step is to assess the physical characteristics of the potential attacker.

Physical condition assessment

The rules of conduct for hostages require first of all to assess the physical parameters of the enemy - height, weight, physique, the presence of special training.

Such preparation can be assessed by the stance of the criminal.

A boxer is characterized by an open stance with involuntarily clenched fists. Sometimes he taps the fist of one hand on the palm of the other. There are noticeable marks of fractures on the bridge of the nose.

The wrestler lowers his shoulders a little, keeping his palms open, as if for a grip. He places his feet shoulder-width apart. There are changes on the ears from injuries after seizures.

A karateka often stands with his body half turned, clenching his fists tightly.

All people with special sports training have developed muscles.

It is important to remember such physical characteristics of a person not only because of the risk of attack, but also for subsequent identification of the criminal by the police. For this, it is also important to take into account his manner of speaking, vocabulary, voice, and external features. These include the shape of the face, nose, ears, cheekbones, lips, eyebrows and eyes, hair color, the presence of tattoos and scars.

Emotional state assessment

Just as important as assessing the physical condition is understanding the psychological state of the hostage taker. The procedure for taking hostages requires the victim to assess the level of aggressiveness of the offender. Is the threat of violence real or is he just trying to scare the victims? Is it possible to have a dialogue with him?

There are several psycho-emotional states that can be determined by a number of external signs. Let's take a closer look at them.

Fear. This emotion can be experienced not only by the victim, but also by the hostage taker himself. If he commits such a crime for the first time, he may not realize all the consequences and be afraid of them. Outwardly, this manifests itself in stiffness of movement and involuntary muscle contractions. The person begins to sweat (this can be seen in the face), the voice becomes quieter, and speech becomes confused.

However, assessing the manner of speaking is only possible if the victim has previously heard the attacker speak.

Anger. This is a dangerous emotion because it encourages a person to attack. She is characterized by a pose as if to jump on an enemy. The muscles on the face tense, the nostrils tremble, the gaze becomes angry and intent, directed at the enemy. A red stripe often appears on the bridge of the nose, and the face turns red or pale. Unlike fear, muscle tension does not lead to trembling and chattering teeth. A person in anger begins to swear, use obscene language, and becomes energetic and impulsive.

Contempt. This is one of the most dangerous emotions because it is “cold”. That is, a person experiencing contempt does not perform expressive actions, but thinks them through and acts prudently.

This state is characterized by a look as if from top to bottom, even if he is lower than his opponent. He distances himself from the one he despises, and in conversation demonstrates his own superiority. Contempt combined with anger is especially dangerous.

Disgust. This emotion is characterized by a facial expression, as if the person tasted something nasty or heard a corresponding smell. At the same time, the upper lip rises and the nose wrinkles.

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Together with anger, disgust leads to aggression, since anger motivates action, and disgust causes the need to get rid of the irritant.

It is also worth noting the presence of signs of joy while inflicting pain on the victim. This speaks of the sadistic tendencies of the criminal.

Start

The first minutes or even seconds are extremely important. When a premises or vehicle is occupied, there is little opportunity to leave the danger zone in a commotion or hide in a place inaccessible to terrorists. In 2002, during a siege at the Dubrovka Theater Center, several employees managed to escape before armed men began to take full control of the building.

How to get out of the building? Look for emergency exits or use windows on the first floors. When jumping out the window, do not rush to immediately run away. The terrorist may see you a minute later and open fire. A striking example of a successful “escape” is the two hostage girls Elena Zinovieva and Svetlana Kononova, who were able to leave the theater through the toilet windows. But they were lucky; the terrorists, opening fire (even from an under-barrel grenade launcher!), did not hit the girls. Try to crouch your way along the wall to the side where the windows do not face, and then move away from the building.

Another example is Yuri Ailarov, who managed to escape from the notorious school in Beslan. He pretended to be dead and then left the building through a window. In order not to be noticed, Yuri stood out of sight of the terrorists all day (until nightfall). Of course, if you are on a plane hijacked by bandits, the method of escaping through the window is clearly not suitable.

Another option is to lock yourself indoors. According to Nord-Ost practice, 12 people were able to escape after being captured. They locked themselves in the editing and dressing rooms before the attack. In panic and bewilderment, escaping from the invaders is a real success. Most people won't even dare to do this. In any case, remaining among the mass of hostages is better than being shot while trying to escape.

The situation is tougher: the option of taking a person as a “human shield”. You don't have much choice in this situation. A barrel pressed tightly against your temple, it turns out, greatly slows down your thought processes. We can only rely on the professionalism of law enforcement officers and special services. Usually, snipers work with these options, but in buried areas this may not be possible. There is only one piece of advice - do not provoke the criminal and do not make sudden movements.

What should you expect from a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs?

Hostage-taking is often carried out under the influence of alcohol and drugs. These are dangerous conditions, since they are characterized by a decrease in the criticality of perception of reality and an increased degree of human arousal. Weak and moderate degrees of alcohol intoxication are dangerous, since a person becomes aggressive and active, while in a state of severe intoxication he becomes lethargic and sleepy, and the coordination of his movements is impaired.

Under the influence of drugs, it is not always easy to externally determine changes in a person. But his behavior is similar to a state of euphoria. He begins to talk a lot and quickly and laughs often.

Drugs reduce sensitivity to pain. But often periods of activity under their influence are quickly replaced by periods of apathy and depression. Drug addicts pose a danger precisely during periods of activity, since at this time they may have outbursts of anger.

About the goals of terrorists

The difficulty in taking hostages stems from the inability to clearly assess the goals of the hostage takers. These may include:

• Material goals. Receive ransom for those captured.
• Putting forward some demands. In this case, there is a real threat to the lives of the hostages, especially if the hostage taker is a lone fanatic.
• Attract attention. Such terrorist attacks are often carried out by suicide bombers who want to make a statement before the explosion.

It is also difficult to assess targets because the terrorist does not often make contact with the victim and explain to her the motives for his behavior.

Worst terrorist hostage attacks in the world

On May 14, 1974, in the city of Ma'alot in northern Israel, three Palestinian militants from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine seized the Netiv Meir school, where a group of schoolchildren and their accompanying students were staying. 85 children, two teachers and two nurses were taken hostage. The Israeli authorities refused to comply with the terrorists' demand to release 26 Palestinians serving sentences in Israeli prisons. On May 15, special forces carried out an operation to free the hostages, during which the terrorists threw grenades at the captives. 22 schoolchildren and three adults were killed, 40 children were injured. The terrorists were destroyed. This terrorist attack went down in history as the “Maalot Massacre.”

On December 1, 1988, in the city of Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia), a group of bandits led by Pavel Yakshiyants seized a bus with 30 schoolchildren and their teacher. After hours of negotiations, the criminals were provided with weapons, $2 million and a plane to fly to Israel. On December 2, at one of the military bases near Tel Aviv, the terrorists were neutralized, no children were injured. The next day, the criminals were handed over to the USSR. In March 1989, Pavel Yakshiyants was sentenced to 15 years in prison, three other criminals received from 12 to 14 years in prison. Teacher Natalya Efimova was awarded the Order “For Personal Courage.”

On February 20, 1994, in Pakistan, three armed Afghans hijacked a bus carrying 74 schoolchildren and eight teachers. The terrorists went to the Afghan embassy, ​​where they took refuge with the hostages. The criminals demanded the release of 70 Afghans from prison, as well as a ransom of $5 billion. Their demands were not met; during the release operation, which lasted 20 seconds, no one was injured, the terrorists were killed.

On May 26, 1994, near the village of Kinzhal, Stavropol Territory, four armed bandits seized a bus with schoolchildren, their parents and teachers - about 30 people in total. The terrorists demanded $10 million, a helicopter, drugs and weapons. After negotiations with the authorities, they released all the children and several adults. On May 27, a helicopter carrying terrorists took off and headed for Dagestan, but due to a lack of fuel, it made an emergency landing in Chechnya, where the bandits were neutralized. On August 4 of the same year, the gang leader, Magomed Bitsiev, was sentenced to capital punishment, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. Temur Ali Mazhaev, Akhmed Makhmaev and Alavdi Vakhidov received 15 years in prison.

On September 1, 2004, in Beslan (North Ossetia-Alania), militants led by Rasul Khachbarov captured more than 1,100 students from school No. 1, their relatives and teachers. On September 2, after negotiations with the ex-president of the Republic of Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev, the bandits released 25 women and children. On September 3, during the assault, most of the hostages were freed, 335 people died. Among the dead were 186 children, 10 employees of the FSB of the Russian Federation, 2 employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and 15 policemen. More than 800 people were injured. The militants were destroyed, only one survived - Nur-Pashi Kulaev. On May 26, 2006, he was sentenced to death, commuted due to a moratorium on life imprisonment. Shamil Basayev took responsibility for the terrorist attack.

On June 16, 2005, in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, six armed men kidnapped about 70 students and three teachers at an international training center for children with disabilities. After negotiations, about 40 hostages were released. In exchange for the release of the others, the terrorists demanded a bus, weapons and $30 thousand. During the operation to free the hostages, two militants were killed and four were captured. A 5-year-old Canadian boy was killed in the shootout.

On January 28, 2008, in the city of Bannu in northwestern Pakistan, seven armed Islamists seized a school. About 250 students aged 8 to 12 were taken hostage. The city authorities gave the militants the opportunity to leave unhindered. No harm done.

On April 14, 2014, militants of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, operating in northeastern Nigeria, captured 276 schoolgirls aged 12-17 years. On May 5, they captured 11 more girls, and on June 24, 68. Some schoolgirls managed to escape; about 230 girls remain in captivity of the Islamists. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video message that they would all be given in marriage according to Muslim customs.

On May 29, 2014, in Syria, Islamic State militants captured 153 Kurdish boys aged 13-16 years old who were returning from Aleppo to Kobani after taking exams. From June to September, most schoolchildren were released, some of them in exchange for arrested extremists. On October 29, the last 25 hostages were released. According to the children's testimonies, the militants regularly beat them and forced them to watch brutal videos of massacres.

How should the victim behave?

The basic rules of conduct during hostage-taking prescribe:

• Agree with the invaders on everything and try to find out as much information as possible, but without risking your own life. If one of the hostages is released before the others, they must be told all the information about the number of hostages remaining and their placement, as well as about the captors themselves.
• Find a place where it will be convenient for the hostage to hide during the assault. Do not lie down near windows and doors through which fighters from the capture group will enter the building. Also, you should not pick up the weapons of terrorists, so as not to be mistaken for one of them.
• Do not provoke attackers to violence and the use of weapons.
• Tolerate insults and humiliation, do not act defiantly, so as not to provoke criminals to aggression.
• Do not fall into hysterics and panic, and also comply with the demands of the terrorists, so as not to endanger your life and the lives of other hostages.
• Ask permission to perform any action.
• If injured, do not move to reduce blood loss.

Compliance with these requirements will increase the chances of survival in a critical situation of hostage taking and subsequent assault by a special group.

How to behave if you are kidnapped and become a hostage of terrorists

Taking hostages during terrorist acts, as well as kidnapping for ransom or exchange, has become a common type of criminal offense. In addition, you can become a hostage by accident, for example, during the robbery of a store, bank, apartment, country cottage, or when people are captured by terrorists.

A hostage is a person who is in the power of criminals. This does not mean that he is generally deprived of the opportunity to fight for a successful resolution of the situation in which he finds himself. On the contrary, a lot depends on his behavior.

The classic abduction system looks like this:

• planning;
• Preparation;
• capture;
• hiding a hostage;
• communication and interrogation;
• Negotiation;
• receiving ransom;
• freeing or killing the victim.

At the planning stage, criminals outline the target for kidnapping, the amount of the expected ransom, the participants

operations, the most suitable places for kidnapping,

conducting negotiations, obtaining ransom.

At the preparation stage, criminals pay great attention to a detailed study of the lifestyle of their intended victim (and all members of his family), the places where he most often visits, and the security measures he takes. They conduct a thorough study of the area, clarify travel routes between home, work, and other places visited, find out the location of premises in an apartment or office, the viewing area from windows, etc.

They study criminals and close friends, business partners,

close employees of the intended victim. This is done to identify those individuals who may be useful.

when conducting negotiations. Their first and last names, residential addresses, telephone numbers, brands and registration numbers of personal cars, and appearance marks are specified for quick and accurate identification.

Protection measures

The real, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the only opportunity to quickly escape from the hands of criminals occurs in the initial stage of capture, at the time of the attack. But if the failure of attempts to free yourself is obvious, it is better not to resort to extreme measures, but to act in accordance with the prevailing circumstances.

From the moment of capture, it is necessary to control your actions and record everything that could contribute to release.

1. We must try to remember all the details of transportation from the place of capture:

• time and speed of movement;
• ascents and descents;
• cool in
• gate;
• stops at traffic lights;
• railway crossings;
• characteristic sounds.

2. If possible, one should try to convey all this information by hint or note to those who negotiate with criminals.

If such an opportunity does not arise, in any case, remember that even the most insignificant information about the “hostage prison” can be useful for his

release, capture and exposure of criminals.

3. You must remember everything you saw and heard during your stay in prison:

• location of windows, doors, stairs;
• wallpaper color;
• specific odors;
• vote;
• the appearance and manners of the criminals themselves;
• their behavior;
• listen carefully to conversations between each other;
• remember the distribution of roles.

In short, create a clear psychological portrait of each of them in your mind.

A person becomes a victim from the moment of capture, and although this happens in different conditions, the victim always experiences a strong mental shock (shock). Therefore, it is vitally important to quickly cope with your emotions in order to behave rationally, increasing the chance of your salvation.

External readiness to contact criminals and discuss issues that interest them must be combined with the main rule: to help not the criminals, but yourself. After all, the information they receive from the hostage is ultimately used to the detriment of himself, his loved ones, colleagues, and law enforcement officers.

The main task here is to use your answers to help people trying to find and free the hostage, and not to put them in a difficult position.

We must try to soften the hostility of the bandits towards ourselves, and look for opportunities to establish individual contacts with some of them.

But the outward readiness to find a common language with criminals, participation in the discussion of problems that concern them should not contradict the mentioned main principle: to help yourself, not the bandits.

To break a hostage psychologically, criminals use the following measures of pressure:

• limit mobility, vision, hearing;
• poorly fed, tormented by hunger and thirst, deprived of cigarettes;
• create unbearable living conditions.

Maintaining psychological stability during a long stay in captivity is one of the most important conditions for rescuing a hostage. Any techniques and methods that distract from unpleasant sensations and experiences, allowing you to maintain clarity of thoughts and an adequate assessment of the situation, are good here.

It is useful to learn the following rules:

1.Try, as far as possible, to observe personal hygiene requirements.

2. Do physical exercises that are available in the given conditions.

3. It is very useful in all respects to practice auto-training and meditation.

4.Remember the books you have read, consistently think about various abstract processes (solve mathematical problems, remember foreign words, etc.). Your brain needs to work.

5.If possible, read everything that is at hand, even if the text is not at all interesting to you.

6. It is important to keep track of time, especially since kidnappers usually take away your watch, refuse to say what day and time it is, and isolate you from the outside world.

7. Try to treat what is happening to you as if from the outside, without taking what happened to heart, and hope until the end for a successful outcome. Fear, depression and apathy are your three main enemies.

8. Do not throw away things that may be useful to you (medicines, glasses, pencils, etc.), try to create at least a minimum supply of drinking water and food for that

case if you are left alone for a long time or stop feeding.

Liberation.

The first option is when the criminals themselves release the hostage, they take him to some deserted place and leave him there alone.

The second option is that he is abandoned in a locked room, exiting which requires a lot of time and effort.

The third option is to drop off the hostage on a busy street (far from traffic police posts and police officers). After this, the car is abandoned or its license plate is changed.

It may also happen that the police will release you. In this case, we must try to convince the criminals that it is best for them to surrender. Then they can count on a more lenient sentence. If such an attempt fails, try to convince them that their fate is directly dependent on yours. If they go or are ready to kill, then all sorts of

negotiations between the authorities and them become meaningless. And then all that remains is an assault with the use of weapons.

If an assault has begun or is about to begin, try to protect your body from bullets. It is best to lie on the floor away from windows and doors, face down, not in a straight line from the window and door openings. During the assault, do not pick up the weapons of criminals.

When terrorists seized the Theater Center in Moscow, many hostages managed to convey information about the criminals, their intentions, behavior via mobile phones and other means, which contributed to the release of hundreds of people.

Immediately report cases of discovery of preconditions for possible terrorist acts or emergency incidents to local authorities:

-OUFSB (2-59-86);

— Department of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Aleksandrovsky district (02, 2-38-24);

— FGKU “2 OFPS in the Vladimir region” (01, 2-06-56);

- EDDS duty officer of the Aleksandrovsky district (112, 2-34-12).

Anti-terrorist commission of Aleksandrovsky district

Beginning of the assault

The rules of conduct for hostages during an assault must be observed especially strictly and strictly so as not to become a victim of a possible armed conflict.

Experts advise adhering to the following rules:

• Follow the instructions of the capture team without trying to disarm the terrorists yourself.
• When given the appropriate command, you need to lie face down and not rise until the end of the release.
• When flash-noise grenades explode, you need to lie down, cover your head and not touch your eyes. Eyes must be closed.
• You can leave the premises where the hostages were kept only on command and under the guidance of specialists. You cannot delay traffic or search for your belongings. In some cases, there may still be a danger of explosion.

After release, you must contact special services. They will interview the hostages to obtain the necessary information about the seizure, and will also help obtain the necessary assistance. And it is really needed, because the hostages suffer from post-traumatic syndrome.

How to behave if you are kidnapped and become a hostage of terrorists

Recommendations from employees of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of Russia, expressed at a meeting with schoolchildren and teaching staff of the Retro school of the Eastern Administrative District of Moscow on October 15, 2004.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU ARE HOSTAGED?

Unfortunately, none of us are protected from a situation where we could be taken hostage by terrorists. At the moment, detailed recommendations and requirements for how to behave if you find yourself hostage have not yet been developed. But general recommendations can be given. If you find yourself hostage, you need to pay attention to the following points:

WHEN CAPTURED:

As the development of events during the hostage-taking in “Nord-Ost” and Beslan showed, only at this moment is there a real opportunity to escape from the scene. This probably mainly applies to adults who can soberly assess the situation around them. If there is no terrorist nearby and there is no possibility of defeat, you cannot simply stand still. If there is such an opportunity, it is necessary to run away from the place of the intended capture.

IF YOU ARE CAPTURED:

You need to be prepared for the fact that no one will immediately free you. You need to psychologically prepare yourself for a long stay next to terrorists. At the same time, you need to firmly know that in the end you will definitely be freed. It must also be remembered that for special forces officers, the life of the hostages comes first, and not their own lives . When you are close to terrorists, it is necessary to establish a common psychological contact with them. You don't necessarily need to talk to them. But under no circumstances should you shout, express your indignation, or cry loudly, because very often terrorists are under the influence of drugs and are generally very excited. Therefore, crying and screaming have an extremely negative effect on them and cause unnecessary aggression in them. You need to prepare yourself for the fact that for quite a long time you will be deprived of food, water and possibly movement. Therefore, you need to save energy. If there is little air in the room, you need to move less in order to use oxygen more economically. If you are prohibited from moving around the building, you need to do simple physical exercises. Just strain the muscles of your arms, legs, back - that is, you need to force yourself to move. In addition, you need to force your brain to work so as not to withdraw into yourself and lose psychological control. Remember the contents of books, solve mathematical problems, if anyone knows prayers, they can pray. At the same time, you need to know for sure that negotiations are underway with terrorists and, in the end, you will definitely be released .

DURING THE STORM:

If you realize that an assault has begun, you need to take a position away from windows and doorways (during shelling, fragments of glass and building structures can cause additional injuries). You also need to stay away from terrorists, because during the assault our snipers will work on them. No personal bravado needed. Most people do not have special training, so you do not need to grab a weapon so as not to be confused with terrorists. If you hear the pops of exploding flash-noise grenades, when the bright light hits your eyes, the sound hits your ears, or you smell a strong smell of smoke, you just need to fall to the floor, close your eyes, do not rub them under any circumstances, cover your head with your hands and wait until the special units take you out of the building.

OUR SPECIFIC WISHES:

If you find yourself hostage, try to record all the events that accompany the capture. Remember what the terrorists talk about among themselves, what they look like, who their leader is, what their plans are, what their distribution of roles is. This information will be very important for us in the future. Often terrorists are trying to escape, so they dress up as hostages in an attempt to save their lives.

QUESTIONS ASKED BY CHILDREN TO STAFF OF THE TsSN FSB RUSSIA:

Can Personal Protective Equipment Help? You should not use gas canisters, stun guns and other means, because these are very big and evil people against whom a child will not be able to resist. What about an adult? Anyone who is not specially prepared will also not be able to provide worthy resistance. If a bomb is hung on a person, what signs should be given? There are no specially installed signs, but in any case, if there is a bomb on you, if you are handcuffed, you need to make it clear to the special services officers without panic, with your voice or movement of your hand. When planning special operations, we monitor places of detention. Therefore, if you regularly repeat “I’m wearing a bomb, I’m wearing a bomb...”, then those who need it will hear it. What to do if a terrorist, trying to save his life, puts a gun to your head? There is only one thing, fulfill the terrorist’s demands and wait for you to be released. Your main goal is to save your own life. What to do if a gas bomb hits a room where hostages and terrorists are located? Fall to the floor. If there is any damp cloth, cover your face with it to make breathing easier. If there is no water, then use your own urine. What to do if you find yourself under a rubble? If suddenly an unauthorized explosion occurs and you find yourself buried, you need to determine a free place to which you could move. If possible, if you have fragments of a table or desk at hand, try to strengthen what is above you. And wait. There is no need to try to get out from under the rubble on your own. As a general rule, debris removal is done from top to bottom. Every hour there is a minute of silence. When various mechanisms stop working, you need to shout loudly and declare yourself. What to do after release? You definitely need to identify yourself. Contact the special services officers who carried out the release operation. They will help you transfer the information you have for its intended purpose and subsequently undergo a course of medical rehabilitation. (People who are taken hostage experience the consequences of post-traumatic syndrome. The help of specialists for such people is simply necessary).