For religious and political groups it is vitally important to receive financial support and attract public attention. Some of them, however, resort to illegal methods — such as kidnapping — and use them as a means to achieve their goals.
"Kidnapping is a very difficult and stressful situation, not only for the victims but also for the kidnapper himself, who is also in the state of stress," Nils Retkowski, representative of Result Group GmbH Global Risk and Crisis Management said in an interview with Sputnik.
The Result Group GmbH was founded in 1996 and is located in Munich, Berlin, Brussels and Hamburg. The company advises global companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations in developing countries on how to prevent criminal attacks and helps them with the resolution of crisis situations.
"What is important is that we negotiate directly with a kidnapper or kidnappers. Therefore, training and experience play an important role here," Retkowski said.
"During the negotiations, we are also trying to influence the abductor and return a hostage as quickly as possible. However, our primary goal is to return the person unharmed," the security expert said.
Most of the company's staff has undergone a special training program. They are often former police officers, soldiers or people from other security services. The company also has special units where personnel receive basic as well as an in-depth knowledge.
"There are not so many companies that are involved in the prevention of kidnapping. Our employees should have the will power, be able to empathize and put themselves in the place of the victim or abductor and understand what they are feeling. It is very important," Retkowski explained.
In his opinion, for many religious and political groups, such as Daesh, it is vitally important to attract media attention. Though, he argues, Daesh is rather a special case because usually abductors are interested in gaining profit in exchange for a prisoner rather than his or her public execution.
