This list represents a sample of American people imprisoned abroad by state and non-state actors, past and present. This list includes both citizens of the United States and legal permanent residents. It represents individuals imprisoned through various channels, including tried crimes and kidnappings. It does not include American prisoners of war or war-time kidnappings.
The Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) Roger D. Carstens leads and coordinates activities across the Executive Branch to bring home Americans held hostage in other countries. Non-governmental organizations that advocate for the return of Americans imprisoned abroad include the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the James Foley Legacy Foundation, and the Bring Our Families Home Campaign.
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jeffrey Woodke | 14 October 2016 | 20 March 2023 | 2348 | Kidnapped for monetary ransom | [1] |
Paul Rusesabagina | 31 August 2020 | 25 March 2023 | 1583 | Arrested on charges of terrorism, arson, kidnap and "murder perpetrated against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians on Rwandan territory". | |
Ryan Koher | 4 November 2022 | 5 October 2023 | 788 | Arrested trying to fly supplies to orphanage in Northern Mozambique and was held without charges or bail. March 15, 2023 provisionally released but forbidden from leaving country. | [2] |
Marcel Malanga | 19 May 2024 | In detention | 226 | Involvement in the 2024 DRC coup attempt | [3] |
Tyler Thompson | 19 May 2024 | In detention | 226 | Involvement in the 2024 DRC coup attempt | [4] |
Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun | 19 May 2024 | In detention | 226 | Involvement in the 2024 DRC coup attempt | [5] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Frerichs | 31 January 2020 | 19 September 2022 | 962 | Kidnapped by the Haqqani network | |
Ryan Corbett | 10 August 2022 | In detention | 874 |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kai Li | July 2018 | 27 November 2024 | ~2341 | espionage | [6] |
Mark Swidan | 13 November 2012 | 27 November 2024 | 4397 | Assisting the transportation and payment of technicians to manufacture methamphetamine | [7] |
David Lin | 2006 | 16 September 2024 | 5844 | contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison | [8] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Levinson | 9 March 2007 | Deceased while in detention | [9] | |||
Emad Shargi | 30 November 2020 | 18 September 2023 | 1492 | Espionage/Spying | Sentenced to 10 years in January 2021. Had previously been cleared in December 2019 | [10] [11] |
Morad Tahbaz | January 2018 | 18 September 2023 | ~2556 | [12] | ||
Baquer Namazi | 22 February 2016 | 5 October 2022 | 3235 | Espionage/Spying | [13] | |
Siamak Namazi | 13 October 2015 | 18 September 2023 | 3365 | [14] | ||
Shahab Dalili | 2016 | In detention | ~2922 | "Aiding and abetting" the U.S. | [15] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Vincent Wilgus | 7 November 2016 | In detention | 2976 | indecent exposure | [16] |
Thomas Stwalley | 6 July 2018 | In detention | 2370 | intent to distribute marijuana | [17] |
Paul Whelan | 28 December 2018 | 1 August 2024 | 2043 | espionage | |
Trevor Reed | 16 August 2019 | 27 April 2022 | 985 | violence against an officer | [18] |
Eugene Spector | 19 February 2020 | In detention | 1777 | bribery and espionage | [19] |
Marc Fogel | 15 August 2021 | In detention | 1234 | marijuana possession | [20] [21] |
Sarah Krivanek | 15 December 2021 | 8 December 2022 | 358 | domestic dispute | [22] [23] |
Andre Khachatoorian | 27 December 2021 | In detention | 1100 | illegal possession of a firearm | [24] |
David Barnes | 13 January 2022 | In detention | 1083 | child abuse (custody dispute) | [25] |
Robert Gilman | 17 January 2022 | In detention | 1079 | assault of a police officer | [26] |
Brittney Griner | 17 February 2022 | 8 December 2022 | 294 | possession of hashish oil | |
Evan Gershkovich | 29 March 2023 | 1 August 2024 | 491 | espionage | [27] |
Michael Travis Leake | 6 June 2023 | In detention | 574 | intent to distribute drugs | [28] |
Alsu Kurmasheva | 18 October 2023 | 1 August 2024 | 288 | failure to register as a foreign agent | [29] |
Yuri Malev | 8 December 2023 | In detention | 389 | rehabilitation of Nazism | [30] |
Robert Woodland | 5 January 2024 | In detention | 361 | intent to distribute drugs | [31] |
Ksenia Karelina | 27 January 2024 | In detention | 339 | suspicion of treason | [32] |
Gordon Black | 2 May 2024 | In detention | 243 | theft and making threats | [33] |
Steven Hubbard | 2 April 2022 | In detention | 1004 | fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine | [34] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Tice | 13 August 2012 | In detention | 4523 | ||
Majd Kamalmaz | 15 February 2017 | Deceased while in detention | |||
Travis Pete Timmerman | 5 June 2024 | 8 December 2024 | 186 | Illegal entry into country | [35] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | United Nations | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zack Shahin | March 2008 | In detention | ~6149 | Accused of bribery and embezzlement | Designated arbitrarily detained per the United Nations Working Group ruling of March 2023 which ordered his immediate release, listed reparations to be paid by the United Arab Emirates government, Yemen government as well as Emirates Airlines to Zack Shahin, and repatriation back to the United States. The ruling found that Zack Shahin was a victim of kidnapping, failure of due process, faulty trials with no evidence, arbitrary detention, and much more. | [36] [ dead link ] [37] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eyvin Hernandez | 29 March 2022 | December 21 2023 | 1008 | Illegal Entry into the Country | |
Matthew John Heath | September 2020 | October 1 2022 | ~1582 | Terrorism and Arms Trafficking | |
Airan Berry | May 2020 | December 21 2023 | ~1705 | Took part in a Beach landing to overthrow the government | [38] |
Luke Denman | May 2020 | December 21 2023 | ~1705 | Took part in a Beach landing to overthrow the government | [38] |
Gustavo Cárdenas | 21 November 2017 | March 9 2022 | 1569 | Arrested for corruption charges and detained among the Citgo Six | |
Tomeu Vadell | 21 November 2017 | October 1 2022 | 1775 | ||
Jorge Toledo | 21 November 2017 | October 1 2022 | 1775 | ||
Alirio Zambrano | 21 November 2017 | October 1 2022 | 1775 | ||
Jose Luis Zambrano | 21 November 2017 | October 1 2022 | 1775 | ||
Jose Angel Pereira | 21 November 2017 | October 1 2022 | 1775 |
Evin Prison is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for the housing of Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "Evin University" due to the high number of students and intellectuals detained there. Evin Prison has been accused of committing "serious human rights abuses" against its political dissidents and critics of the government.
Turkmenistan's human rights record has been heavily criticized by various countries and scholars worldwide. Standards in education and health declined markedly during the rule of President Saparmurat Niyazov.
Haleh Esfandiari is an Iranian-American academic and former Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Her areas of expertise include Middle Eastern women's issues, contemporary Iranian intellectual currents and politics, and democratic developments in the Middle East. She was detained in solitary confinement at Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran for more than 110 days from May 8 to August 21, 2007.
Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency for an indefinite amount of time without a trial. The Human Rights Watch considers this practice as violating national and international laws, particularly human rights laws, although it remains in legislation in various liberal democracies.
Amir Mirza Hekmati ; is a United States Marine veteran who was arrested in August 2011 for allegedly spying for the CIA in Iran. On January 9, 2012, he was sentenced to death for the charges. On March 5, 2012, the Iranian Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and ordered a retrial, saying the verdict against Hekmati was "not complete". On January 16, 2016, Hekmati was released and allowed to leave Iran as part of a prisoner trade between the U.S. and Iran. He returned to the United States on January 21, 2016. He sued the Government of Iran on May 11, 2016. He received a default judgment of $63 million on October 3, 2017. In November 2019 he sued the government for unpaid compensation. According to the assistant attorney general they are reconsidering if he is eligible.
Narges Mohammadi is an Iranian human rights activist. She is the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. Mohammadi has been a vocal proponent of mass feminist civil disobedience against the hijab in Iran and a vocal critic of the hijab and chastity program of 2023. In May 2016, she was sentenced in Tehran to 16 years' imprisonment for establishing and running "a human rights movement that campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty." She was released in 2020 but sent back to prison in 2021, where she has since given reports of the abuse and solitary confinement of detained women.
Saeed Abedini is an Iranian American Christian pastor who was imprisoned in Iran in 2012 based on allegations that he compromised national security. During his imprisonment, Abedini became internationally known as a victim of religious persecution. Following international pressure, along with other American prisoners, Abedini was released from prison on 16 January 2016.
Nizar Zakka is a Lebanese national who was arrested by Iran in 2015, and was imprisoned until 2019 on charges of espionage for the United States. Zakka worked as an Internet freedom advocate and served as secretary general of the Arab Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Organization (IJMA3) in Washington, D.C., and is a US permanent resident.
Xiyue Wang is a Chinese-American academic who was imprisoned in Iran from 2016 to 2019 after being accused of espionage.
Paul Nicholas Whelan is a Canadian-born former United States Marine with U.S., British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship. Whelan left the Marines in 2008 with a bad conduct discharge after being convicted on multiple counts "related to larceny".
Siamak Namazi is an Iranian-American businessman. He was detained in Evin Prison in Iran from October 13, 2015 until his release on September 18, 2023.
Mohammad Baquer Namazi is an Iranian-American former civil servant who served as Governor of Khuzestan province under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was imprisoned in Iran from 2016 until 2022.
Morad Tahbaz is an Iranian-American businessman and conservationist. He was born in London and holds British citizenship. Tahbaz is a co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF). In January 2018, Iranian authorities arrested Tahbaz along with eight other PWHF-affiliated individuals.
The trial of Hamid Nouri, an Iranian official detained in 2019 in Sweden, took place in 2022. Nouri was found guilty of being a key figure in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, where according to different estimates between 2,800 to 30,000 Iranians were massacred. In early 2021 charges of murder and war crimes were filed against the former Iranian prosecutor, where Nouri was accused of "torture and inhuman treatment." The trial constituted the first time someone has been charged in relation to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. Nouri was charged with more than 100 murders and "a serious crime against international law", and was expected to provide evidence implicating Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran, at the time of the trial.
On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Articles 31 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation is a group of federal laws promulgated by the Russian government during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These laws establish administrative and criminal punishments for "discrediting" or dissemination of "unreliable information" about the Russian Armed Forces, other Russian state bodies and their operations, and the activity of volunteers aiding the Russian Armed Forces, and for calls to impose sanctions against Russia, Russian organizations and citizens. These laws are an extension of Russian fake news laws and are sometimes referred to as the fakes laws.
Kai Li is an American businessman who was detained in China 2016. The United States government considered Li to be wrongfully detained under the Levinson Act as did the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention which declared Li's detention to be arbitrary. In November 2024, Li was released as part of a prisoner swap with China.
Bring Our Families Home (BOFH) is a campaign by family members of American hostages and detainees advocating for their immediate release. The James Foley Legacy Foundation claims that there are approximately sixty Americans who are being held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. The Foley Foundation provides support to BOFH.
Alsu Khamidovna Kurmasheva is a Russian and American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir Service. Kurmasheva was arrested in Kazan, Russia on October 18, 2023, and charged with failure to register as a foreign agent. The charge carried a potential sentence of five years in prison. Kurmasheva was released on August 1, 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange.
Masoud Kazemi is an Iranian journalist and human rights activist. He is best known in Iran for his extensive reporting on political and economic corruption, particularly the Babak Zanjani case.