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We can't be held hostage to threats of those demanding Zuma's release

Paying ransom will defeat our constitutional democracy

Most Western governments have a strict policy of not negotiating with terrorists. And while some European governments have at different times entered into financial negotiations with extremist groups and terrorists, the US is particularly firm on the stance that it will not pay ransom to terrorist groups for the release of kidnapped American citizens.

This stance was put to the test back in 2012 when James Wright Foley, an American journalist who was working in Syria, was kidnapped by the Islamic State (Isis). A few months after the kidnapping, Isis demanded a ransom of €100m from the US government for the release of Foley – a demand that was rejected by the Barack Obama administration...

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