Criminal Code Act 1995
Section 3
CHAPTER 8 - OFFENCES AGAINST HUMANITY AND RELATED OFFENCES Division 268 - Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the administration of the justice of the International Criminal Court Subdivision F - War crimes that are serious violations of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and are committed in the course of an armed conflict that is not an international armed conflict SECTION 268.75 War crime - taking hostages (1)A person (the perpetrator ) commits an offence if:
(a) the perpetrator seizes, detains or otherwise holds hostage one or more persons; and
(b) the perpetrator threatens to kill, injure or continue to detain the person or persons; and
(c) 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
(d) the person or persons are not taking an active part in the hostilities; and
(e) the perpetrator knows of, or is reckless as to, the factual circumstances establishing that the person or persons are not taking an active part in the hostilities; and
(f) the perpetrator ' s conduct takes place in the context of, and is associated with, an armed conflict that is not an international armed conflict.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 17 years.
(2)
To avoid doubt, a reference in subsection (1) to a person or persons who are not taking an active part in the hostilities includes a reference to:
(a) a person or persons who are hors de combat ; or
(b) civilians, medical personnel or religious personnel who are not taking an active part in the hostilities.
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