Swiss American Historical Society Review
Article Title
The Swiss and the Iranian Hostage Crisis
Abstract
Like the Kennedy assassination and the events surrounding the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in New York, all the world remembers the Iranian Hostage Crisis. For 444 days-from November 4, 1979, until January 20, 1981, all good and decent people around the globe were shocked, appalled, and disgusted by the endless stories of abuse and contempt to which the innocent American hostages-employees of the legitimate Embassy of the United States in Iran-were subjected by the Iranian student terrorists. Until this event, diplomatic immunity had always been a sacred concept, respected by all nations . On the rare occasion when the diplomat's sacred person was violated , swift punishment by the authorities of the host nation was sure to follow. We recall that when, during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the German ambassador to China was murdered outside the Imperial Palace and the Forbidden City in Peking, the Empress Cixi immediately ordered the decapitation of the malicious culprits who had been involved in this unfortunate incident.