Several Americans are currently detained in Russia with their loved ones desperate to ensure the Biden administration is doing everything in its power to get them returned safely and as quickly as possible.
Two Americans held in Russia are believed to currently be considered wrongfully detained: Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. Both of them were arrested in Russia on what are widely considered to be trumped-up espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan was sentenced in 2020 and Gershkovich was sentenced on Friday.
“As I have long said and as the U.N. also concluded, there is no question that Russia is wrongfully detaining Evan. Journalism is not a crime. We will continue to stand strong for press freedom in Russia and worldwide, and stand against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists,” President Joe Biden said.
When an American gets arrested overseas, the State Department will review “the totality of the circumstances, and may consider factors including, but not limited to, the fairness of the judicial process, the veracity of the charges, and motivation or other circumstances surrounding or related to the arrest or the detention,” to determine whether the individual was justly detained, according to the department’s website.
The State Department utilizes the Levinson Act, named in honor of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who was abducted in Iran and is considered to be the longest-held hostage in U.S. history, to make this determination.
“Additionally, since the very first day of my Administration, I have had no higher priority than seeking the release and safe return of Evan, Paul Whelan and all Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad,” the president added. “We will not cease in our efforts to bring him home.”
Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth, traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with congressional and administration leaders to discuss her brother’s case. Elizabeth met with Biden back in January, but after several months of hearing little from the administration, got concerned that they had “deprioritized” Paul’s case.
After her meetings, Elizabeth told the Washington Examiner that her concerns have been “totally assuaged,” adding, “So, from a news point of view, it’s a bit of a nothingburger, but from a personal point of view, it meant the world to me.”
Getting that designation puts the case into the purview of the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, which is currently Roger Carstens. Earlier this week at the Aspen Security Forum, he discussed what the initial steps are for when a case gets the designation.
“When a case becomes mine, it leaves the Consular Affairs Bureau, someone’s declared as a wrongful detainee, it comes over to my office. Within about a week, we’re in the air. We fly anywhere in the world to see the family of that person that’s being held. And in that first meeting, which usually goes on about four hours, you can picture sitting in someone’s living room talking about their loved one that’s being held, trying to get a sense of what happened, see pictures.”
“Eventually, you kind of shift the conversation, and you discuss how the U.S. government is going to work and partner with the family to bring their loved ones home. And in doing that, I always say that there’s going to come a time in the life cycle of every case where I can’t talk about it as much as I would like to,” he added.
Carstens declined to provide a specific answer for why Alsu Kurmasheva, a longtime journalist for U.S.-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who has been detained in Russia since May of last year, is not designated as wrongfully detained, despite congressional insistence.
Kurmasheva, a naturalized U.S. citizen, tried to return to her family in Prague in May 2023 when she was not allowed to get on the flight. Then in October of that year, she was arrested on charges of being a foreign agent.
Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, and their two daughters traveled to Washington this week as well to advocate for her.
“I’m gonna put it in the most blunt terms possible,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not happy with that at all. I’ve been disappointed and frustrated for many, many months. I must say though, that our ultimate goal is to bring Alsu back, not to get her an official designation from the U.S. government. It must be said, however, it’s a means to an end.”
Butorin also noted that Gershkovich received his wrongfully detained designation after a couple of weeks and said he didn’t begrudge that, but wished his wife was given the same treatment.
Kurmasheva and Butorin’s elder daughter, Bibi, told the Washington Examiner “that by not having this designation, it makes us feel like she did something wrong or that our government thinks that she did something wrong.”
Unlike many Americans who are detained abroad, there is no congressional representative for Kurmasheva given that they live in Prague, though Butorin specifically referenced Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as a member of Congress who has supported them.
“The Biden administration must demand accountability for these disgusting human rights abuses and negotiate from a position of strength — not weakness. In Alsu’s case, that starts with immediately designating her as wrongfully detained,” McCaul told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
The Biden administration and Russia have agreed to two hostage exchanges in recent years to secure the release of Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner, both of whom were traded for Russians convicted in U.S. courts.
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When Griner was released in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, U.S. officials said Moscow viewed her differently than Whelan due to his espionage charge, which they have said the Russians see as a more serious crime.
Other Americans detained in Russia include Marc Fogel and Staff Sgt. Gordon Black.