There are no set of rules of conduct that a hostage can follow which will assure his/her release. However, based on the experiences, which of the following should not be done ?

In a hostage situation, the primary objective is survival and aiding potential rescue efforts. Security experts and official guidelines (such as those from the UN or security agencies) suggest several survival strategies:

• Cooperation: Captives should generally follow instructions to avoid unnecessary provocation or violence (Option A).
• Humanization: It is often advised to humanize oneself and subtly establish that one is more valuable to the captors alive than dead (Option B).
• Discretion: One should never threaten captors or remind them that they can be identified, as this increases the captors' incentive to eliminate the witness (Option D).

Crucially, hostages are encouraged to leave physical evidence of their presence, such as fingerprints, DNA, or personal items. This helps rescue teams track the hostage's location and provides forensic evidence for later prosecution. Therefore, not leaving fingerprints is the action that should not be done.