WASHINGTON – Brittney Griner. Austin Tice. The Citgo 6. And now, possibly, three US military veterans Who were captured by enemy forces after a trip to Ukraine to fight Russia.
They are among nearly 50 Americans wrongly detained by foreign governments, according to the State Department. At least a dozen other Americans are being held hostage — including by extremist groups — or over criminal charges that dispute their families.
American citizens are increasingly attractive targets for American adversaries — including China, Russia, Iran and Venezuela — who want to use them as political pawns in battles with the United States.
Mrs. Griner, a professional basketball player, is perhaps the most talked-about American become entangled in what the State Department has called dubious accusations. She was arrested in February at an airport near Moscow after authorities said they found hash oil in her luggage. Her arrest came just days before Russian troops invaded Ukraine, which is armed by the United States and its allies.
This past weekJake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, said the Biden administration would continue to work to ensure that Ms. Griner, Paul Whelan — another American detained by Moscow — and “all unjustly detained Americans and hostages are safe at home.”
Here’s a look at “wrongful detentions,” as they’re known, and some of Americans’ struggles abroad.
What does ‘wrongly detained’ mean?
In general, an American detained by a foreign government for the purpose of influencing U.S. policy or extracting political or economic concessions from Washington is considered “unjustly detained.” In these cases, negotiations between the United States and the other government are the key to securing American freedom.
The State Department does not release the precise number of Americans it has determined to fall into that category. But a senior State Department official said 40 to 50 Americans were wrongly detained abroad.
“Hostage” is a general term used to describe Americans who are blocked from leaving a foreign country. Some are held by terrorist organizations or other groups with which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not maintain diplomatic relations. In these cases, the FBI and other intelligence or law enforcement agencies lead the negotiations.
According to the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, named after a journalist killed in Syria by Islamic State in 2014, 64 Americans wrongfully detained or taken hostage abroad.
What you need to know about Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia
How long have some Americans been detained?
An unjust detention can last a number of days, weeks or years. One of the longest held Americans is Mr Tice, a freelance journalist who was imprisoned in Syria in 2012. US officials believe he is being held by the Syrian government, which denies this.
In a CBS News interview on Wednesday, Mr Tice’s parents urged the Biden administration to meet with Syrian government officials, even though diplomatic relations between the two countries have been formally suspended since 2012. “That will bring Austin home,” said his mother, Debra Tice. President Biden meeting with the parents of Mr. Tice in May and pledged to “explore all available avenues” for his release, according to a White House statement.
Siamak Namazi, an American detained in Iran, said last month that the Iranian government would apparently only release him and her other detainees, including his father, if the Biden administration provided “sufficient incentives”.
“Tehran seems to be demanding more for our release than the White House can bear,” said Mr Namazi, who has been detained in Iran since 2015. wrote in a guest essay for The New York Times.
What is the State Department doing to get them released?
The State Department’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs is handling negotiations for unjustly detained Americans.
The office has grown to about 25 negotiators and other officials in recent years, up from five as more Americans are detained by foreign governments. Each case is assigned an expert on the country where the person is being held.
The process is extremely difficult, the senior State Department official said, speaking on the condition that he not be named to describe some of the office’s functions.
All foreign governments holding Americans have bad relations at best with the United States. In some cases, such as Iran, messages are sent through other governments acting as intermediaries; in other countries, U.S. officials work through the bureaucracy of the foreign government to reach someone high enough to influence a decision.
The notices are intended to amplify the consequences of continuing to detain Americans, the official said.
He said foreign governments often felt they were the aggrieved party and usually started with demands he called unreasonable.
The State Department does not provide legal assistance to the detained Americans or their families.
Does the United States pay ransom or exchange prisoners?
A guideline from 2015 President Barack Obama prohibits promising “ransom, release of prisoners, policy changes, or other concessions” to bring imprisoned Americans home. The policy removes significant incentives for hostage takers to detain Americans in the first place and prevents the exchange of U.S. earnings or other resources that could be used for other nefarious activities, the document said.
But there have been plenty of prisoner swaps with foreign governments to free imprisoned Americans — most recently Trevor Reed, who was held in Russia for two years before his release in April. A Russian pilot imprisoned in the United States on charges of cocaine smuggling was simultaneously released as part of the negotiations.
mr. Reed had suffered from tuberculosis in prison, which made his case all the more urgent.
Similarly, US officials end of last month tried to convince the Venezuelan government to release Matthew Heath from an underground prison cell for humanitarian reasons after his family said he had committed suicide. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has refused, although he freed two other Americans in March.
The fate of Brittney Griner in Russia
The American basketball player has been held in a Russian prison for months on charges of smuggling hash oil into the country.
Iran detains Mr Namazi and three other Americans as Tehran negotiates with world powers to limit its nuclear program. The US chief negotiator, Robert Malley, has said the fate of the arrested Americans is not directly linked to the negotiations.
“But I will say that it is very difficult for us to imagine getting back into the nuclear deal while four innocent Americans are being held hostage by Iran,” he said. told Reuters in January.
Does public pressure or other publicity help?
It depends.
In some cases, major displays of public pressure may not help matters, the senior foreign ministry official said. Fear of provoking an already hostile government is one of the reasons why negotiations are conducted in secret.
Relatives of many wrongfully detained Americans are also cautious about discussing the details of cases passed to them by the State Department or other officials — partly for security reasons and partly to make sure the US government isn’t withholding updates.
But some have set up advocacy networks to pressure the U.S. government to negotiate more aggressively and, most importantly, to make sure their loved ones are not forgotten.
“We wake up every day knowing they are suffering far more than we can imagine — so much so that many of them are afraid to wake up,” wrote the relatives of 19 Americans imprisoned abroad in June. a letter to Mr Biden.
Ms. Griner used the public spotlight on her case to ask Mr. Biden to intervene not only on her behalf, but also on behalf of other Americans who are being wrongly detained.
“I realize you’re dealing with so much, but don’t forget me and the other American inmates,” she said. in a handwritten note to the president this month. “Please do everything you can to get us home.”
Russia has suggested Mrs. Griner. want to trade for Viktor Bouta former Soviet soldier who was convicted in New York in 2011 for running an international gun-smuggling gang.
After Ms. Griner pleaded guilty this month to drug possession and claimed she had no intention of breaking the law, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei A. Ryabkov said the “hype and publicity” surrounding her detention “interfered with the true sense of the word engendered of the word.”
In some situations, especially when Americans are already well known, the State Department official said public attention could help.
But more often than not, and even when it appears that negotiations have stalled, officials are quietly working on the matter, he said.