Lima Syndrome

Lima syndrome is a situation in which abductors develop a sympathy for their hostages.
Overview
The Lima Syndrome is a psychological condition whereby affected abductors begin to sympathize with their hostages.
This syndrome was named after an abduction at the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru in 1996, when members of a militant movement took hostage hundreds of people attending a party in the official residence of Japan's ambassador. Within a few days, the abductors had set free most of the hostages, including the most valuable ones, due to sympathy.
Potential examples
* On January 17 2005 Fabian Bengtsson, CEO of SIBA AB, was kidnapped outside his home in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was held in captivity by the kidnappers until February 3 the same year. One of the two men who were later convicted of the crime confessed that he felt great sympathy for the victim.
* In the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon which is based on the actual events of the 1972 bank robbery involving John Wojtowicz (played by Al Pacino), Wojtowicz and his partner in the robbery Salvatore Naturile (played by John Cazale), both showed signs of Lima Syndrome towards their hostages.

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