"Any person who seizes or detains and threatens…to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party…to do…any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the hostage commits the offence of taking of hostages"

Thanks @rgoodlaw. US law is the same. Under 18USC1203(a), hostage-taking is detaining/threatening to keep detaining another person in order to compel a 3rd person or gov't org to do or not do an act as a condition for release of the one detained. It carries up to a life sentence. https://t.co/0VfcqJXE2P

— Elizabeth de la Vega (@Delavegalaw) June 26, 2018