About Americans Left Behind

The first obligation of a US president is the safety of his citizens. Indeed, the effort to bring home Americans who are held abroad is an American value—we don’t leave innocent citizens behind.

President Biden has done remarkable work—and taken great risk—to bring Americans home from wrongful detentions abroad. From Iran, to Venezuela, to Russia, and beyond, Americans are increasingly being targeted because they are Americans.

The August 1 multilateral exchange that brought home three American citizens from Russia was a masterful act of diplomacy. The Americans Left Behind initiative seeks to use the momentum of that success to bring home four other Americans who are detained in Russia. 

Each of these individuals is a US citizen who has been detained in Russia. In each case, there is evidence that suggests that the person is actually innocent and is being victimized by the Russian legal system – including through the deprivation of due process – at least in part because they are Americans. In some cases, Americans in the Russian legal system are coerced to plead guilty because they know they will not get a fair trial, and they are threatened with long prison sentences if they do not plead. 

Our first goal is to have each of these four Americans designated as a wrongful detainee under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. Despite the long duration of these cases, none have been designated even though there is ample evidence that the individuals are not guilty. The Levinson Act has eleven criteria that are used to make a decision about designation, but the process, timeline, and other considerations used by the State Department are opaque.

The State Department is taking an extraordinary amount of time to designate Americans. While due diligence is important, it is also important to convey to Americans and their families that these people are not left behind or that there is not something wrong with their cases and circumstances. Instead of making decisions on the basis of every possible fact and factor, the State Department should be giving the benefit of the doubt to the detainees (not the foreign government) and making designations as soon as enough criteria are identified. There is a basis for urgency in making these designations, at the August 1 exchange showed.

We also want to raise awareness about these cases and engage political supporters in Congress to press for the designation and for each of these four cases to be prioritized in any future exchange with Russia. We are not confident that any of them were considered for the August 1 exchange, as none had then been designated as a wrongful detainee.

If there is another exchange—whether this year or next—we want to ensure these four Americans have an opportunity to return home to their families and to freedom.

The Americans Left Behind Initiative is sponsored by Global Reach, which works at no cost to support the families of the detainees featured. As experts in supporting detainees and hostages, we understand the urgency of seizing the positive momentum created by the US government in the August 1 exchange.