Tag: hostage

Papuan Separatists in Indonesia Take New Zealand Pilot Hostage

A New Zealand pilot has been taken hostage while flying over Indonesia’s Papua province by an armed separatist group. The pilot has been identified as Captain Philip Merthens, and local authorities are currently investigating the case. Merthens was carrying five passengers on his plane, and Indonesia authorities are unclear on whether they were also taken….


UK Urges Iran to Halt Execution of British–Iranian Alireza Akbari

The UK government has condemned the planned execution of a British–Iranian dual national by Iran and has appealed for it not to go ahead. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Twitter on Wednesday: “Iran must halt the execution of British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari and immediately release him. This is a politically motivated act by a…


Police in Germany’s Dresden Give All-Clear After Hostage-Taking

BERLIN—Police said they had ended a suspected hostage-taking in the eastern German city of Dresden on Saturday, after evacuating a shopping mall in the historic city center and shutting the famous Striezelmarkt Christmas market. “All-clear! The hostage situation in #Dresden is over!” police said on Twitter, adding that two people who appeared to be unharmed…


Philippine Former Senator Briefly Held Hostage in Jail Rampage

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine police killed three detained terrorists linked to ISIS after they staged a jail rampage Sunday that saw a police officer stabbed and a former opposition senator briefly held hostage in a failed escape attempt from the maximum-security facility in the police headquarters in the capital, police said. National police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin…


Police: 12 Hostages Freed at Bank in Country of Georgia

TBILISI, Georgia—Police in the country of Georgia said 12 people who were held hostage in a bank by a gunman for hours Tuesday have been freed and hostage-taker has been arrested. Georgian media reported that the gunman at the bank in the city of Kutaisi had demanded $2 million, a helicopter to leave the country…


‘Imminent Threat’: Woman Charged After Female Hostage Stabbed in Alberta Law Office

Police say they had no choice but to send a tactical team Thursday to rescue a hostage from a law office because her life was in imminent danger. They said Friday that a woman entered the Lethbridge Legal Guidance office demanding to speak with a specific lawyer who wasn’t there and, after using the washroom,…


WNBA’s Brittney Griner Ordered to Trial Friday in Russia

MOSCOW—WNBA player Brittney Griner was ordered Monday to stand trial by a court near Moscow on cannabis possession charges, about 4.5 months after her arrest at an airport while returning to play for a Russian team. The Phoenix Mercury center and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist also was ordered to remain in custody for the…


WNBA Star Brittney Griner Ordered to Trial Friday in Russia

MOSCOW—Shackled and looking wary, WNBA star Brittney Griner was ordered Monday to stand trial by a court near Moscow on cannabis possession charges, about 4 1/2 months after her arrest at an airport while returning to play for a Russian team. The Phoenix Mercury center and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist also was ordered to…


British–Iranian Mother Arrives Home After 6 Years Detained in Iran

British–Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was reunited with her family on Thursday morning, six years after she was detained in Iran. She and Anoosheh Ashoori, another British–Iranian detainee, touched down on British soil at RAF Brize Norton at just after 1 a.m. local time. A video shared on social media showed the emotional homecoming as…


Russian Forces Take at Least 400 Hostage at Mariupol Hospital: Ukrainian Official

Russian forces have taken at least 400 people hostage at a hospital in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko. In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Kyrylenko said about 400 people were driven to the Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol from neighboring houses. Kyrylenko quoted a hospital…