Question juridique clé
Whether the defendant's conduct during the bank robberies fulfilled qualified hostage-taking under Art. 185(2) StGB.
Solution extraite
The conduct did not amount to qualified hostage-taking because, overall, it did not create a sufficiently serious threat of killing or grave injury.
Motifs extraits
The court held that the decisive criterion is the seriousness of the interference with the victim's interests, assessed on all circumstances. An objectively manifest, immediate life-threatening situation is not required, but the threat must still be serious. Here the gun was not loaded or cocked, the threats were brief, the victims were not overly affected, and the situation was quickly resolved by compliance with the robber's demands.