Focus on Travel Security

How to Educate Travelers About Wrongful Detention Risks

Business travelers often bring their vices with them when they cross borders, and that can land them in hot water. But sometimes a government detention has a different motivation than enforcing the law, and that puts organizations in a tough position.

The reasons behind a wrongful detention are often murky and multilayered, which makes assessing and responding to such incidents complicated. A kidnap for ransom case is very different: the motivation is likely criminal, ideological, or financial, and the situation can be much more volatile and violent. Wrongful government detention is generally an attempt to exploit a detainee to get something, whether information, to embarrass the traveler’s country of origin, to wrest concessions from a foreign power, or to negotiate a prisoner release.