Modern Rebels: Banditry and the Crime of Ransom Kidnapping in the Reign of Abdulhamid II (1876-1906)
Modern Rebels: Banditry and the Crime of Ransom Kidnapping in the Reign of Abdulhamid II (1876-1906)

Summary/Abstract: The crime of ransom kidnapping is frequently performed by criminal groups, and it possesses a long past in many cultures. It leads to drastic emotional, physical, and economic hardships both in terms of the victim and his/her family. Ransom kidnapping consists of three essential components. First of them is its unpredictable nature that makes it impossible to guess what would be at the end of this action. Kidnappers could either murder the hostage or spare his/her life, depending on their will to kill. Second is the actual objective of kidnapping. The kidnappers might have organized the crime merely for money, or intending to send a political message to their rivals when they plan to make a good deal of money. Moreover, they could combine these factors with the feelings of vengeance and retaliation in some incidents. Once for all, the deterrence of punishment influences the behavioral positions of kidnappers, and therefore it should be interrelated with the penal code of the time. This paper aims to argue the ransom kidnapping in the reign of Abdulhamid II in the light of above-mentioned principles.

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