War crime—taking hostages
268.34 War crime—taking hostages
A person (the perpetrator) commits an offence if:
the perpetrator seizes, detains or otherwise holds hostage one or more persons; and
the perpetrator threatens to kill, injure or continue to detain the person or persons; and
the perpetrator intends to compel the government of a country, an international organisation or a person or group of persons to act or refrain from acting as an explicit or implicit condition for either the safety or the release of the person or persons; and
the person or persons are protected under one or more of the Geneva Conventions or under Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions; and
the perpetrator knows of, or is reckless as to, the factual circumstances that establish that the person or persons are so protected; and
the perpetrator’s conduct takes place in the context of, and is associated with, an international armed conflict.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 17 years.
Strict liability applies to paragraph (1)(d).
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