Live News - A Survival Guide - International Federation of Journalists

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CHAPTER 4Abductions, hostage taking and targeting journalistsRevengeYou are associated with a country or a group seen by the abductorsas their enemy. Bargaining for your release may not be what theabductors have in mind.An insurance policyYou are held to ensure that the abductors can safely leave an area,or during a period of tension or negotiation.Mistaken identityYou are taken because of mistaken identity or your abductorswrongly think you fall into one of the above categories.REDUCE RISKS◆ Avoid routine and predictablebehaviour.◆ Assess risks before unusualassignments.◆ Lock doors in vehicles. Beaware of risk situations on theroad.◆ Think about settings formeetings.◆ Inform colleagues of yourmovements and plans.Assessing riskHostage taking often follows a pattern. Is the area where you areworking one where hostage taking is practised? Is there a historyof journalists being taken hostage?You need to ask yourself, and check with others, whether youhave a high or medium risk of being a target as a potential hostage.You are at greater risk if you work for a well-known media organisationor one identified with a government that the potentialabductors do not like.When making a risk assessment, look at the situation from thepoint of view of the hostage takers. Your news organisation mayhave no influence over government policy or access to large sumsof cash, but do potential abductors know that? Many people havean instinct to ‘shoot the messenger’ and blame the media forevents they dislike. An individual journalist may also become a targetbecause of the work he or she has done, but this is a rare event.In most cases the journalist is held as a symbol of what they arebelieved to represent.Reducing riskIf you fall into a target group, consider how easy it would be for anabductor to take you hostage. Usually, abductors take the easiesttarget. They need a period of reconnaissance, during which theyare looking for a pattern of events and situations where you aremost vulnerable. They will watch your home, hotel or place ofwork. The more predictably you behave, the greater the risk. Leaveyour base at a different time each day, or by a different route. Trynot to develop predictable travel routes, or at least be aware that52
Live News — A Survival Guide for Journaliststhis is the time you are at greatest risk. If you live in a rented houseor compound, check that the security arrangements are adequate.You are safer with a press pack and at greater risk if alone or travellingas a single crew.By the nature of their work, journalists cannot limit themselvesto protected safe places, and often interview people who may behostile to their news organisation. You need to make a fresh assessmentof risk before each such assignment, and adopt commonsense security measures. When making arrangements do not callfrom a hotel room phone. Use an individual mobile/cell phone or apublic call box, selected at random. Remember that all electroniccommunications can be intercepted.When travelling in your own vehicle, make sure the doors arelocked at all times. You are vulnerable in towns when you stop atlights, or in rural areas when forced to stop by a road-block or anaccident. An accident that blocks the road may be a trap. If you cannotproceed, stop some distance away to assess the situation andtry to keep one avenue of escape clear.If you are making arrangements to meet someone where youhave concerns for your safety, make sure that you meet on yourown terms. Pick a public place, such as a café, at random, and atable in an area where people are already sitting. Be particularlysuspicious of last minute changes to arrangements, especiallythose where you are given little time or opportunity to disagree.The process of abductionAbduction is usually sudden. You must make a rapid assessment ofwhat is going on and act quickly. If the abductor is armed you mayhave no alternative to doing what you are told to do. If the abductoris not armed you may decide to make a lot of noise, scream anddraw attention to yourself. Some people advocate pretending tofaint, to make it more difficult for the abductor to get you into acar. In a surprise attack the abductor depends on their target beingbewildered and unprepared. Shouting will raise your adrenalinelevel and this makes it easier to resist. There is obvious risk inresisting, but the risk to your person does not decrease once youhave been taken.Abduction by degreesHowever, abduction is not always a sudden, violent, event where itis clear that you are being taken somewhere against your will.Surprise attack“I didn’t know when itwas going to hit me.When it did, it happenedin an instant. A cardarted in front of usblocking our path. Agunman shot my driver.Four masked menyanked me out of the car,dragged me to theground, blindfolded me,and hauled me into theback of a waiting van.”Abductee53
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A SURVIVAL GUIDEFOR JOURNALISTSLIVE
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LIVENEWSA SURVIVAL GUIDEFOR JOURNAL
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ContentsPreface . . . . . . . . . .
Page 7 and 8: IntroductionOver the past 12 years
Page 9 and 10: Live News — A Survival Guide for
Page 15 and 16: Chapter 1Preparing to work inhostil
Page 27 and 28: Part 2The Danger ZoneA cameraman ju
Page 57: Chapter 4Abductions, hostagetaking
Page 77 and 78: Chapter 5Emergencymedical aidJourna
Page 103 and 104: Part 4The Campaign ZoneMacedonian j
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Live News — A Survival Guide for
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Appendix 2Statistics on deaths of j
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