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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1203. Hostage taking
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section,
whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, seizes or
detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain
another person in order to compel a third person or a governmental
organization to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or
implicit condition for the release of the person detained, or
attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished by imprisonment
for any term of years or for life and, if the death of any person
results, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment.
(b)(1) It is not an offense under this section if the conduct
required for the offense occurred outside the United States unless
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(A) the offender or the person seized or detained is a national
of the United States;
(B) the offender is found in the United States; or
(C) the governmental organization sought to be compelled is the
Government of the United States.
(2) It is not an offense under this section if the conduct
required for the offense occurred inside the United States, each
alleged offender and each person seized or detained are nationals
of the United States, and each alleged offender is found in the
United States, unless the governmental organization sought to be
compelled is the Government of the United States.
(c) As used in this section, the term "national of the United
States" has the meaning given such term in section 101(a)(22) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)).
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