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 | 2725 | Kidnapped for monetary ransom | [1] |
Paul Rusesabagina | 31 August 2020 | 25 March 2023 | 1308 | Arrested on charges of terrorism, arson, kidnap and "murder perpetrated against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians on Rwandan territory". | |
Ryan Koher | 4 November 2022 | provisionally released | 513 | 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] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Frerichs | 31 January 2020 | September 2022 | 944 | Kidnapped by the Haqqani network |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kai Li | July 2018 | In detention | ~2100 | espionage | [3] |
Mark Swidan | 13 November 2012 | In detention | 4156 | Assisting the transportation and payment of technicians to manufacture methamphetamine | [4] |
David Lin and Friends | 2008 | In detention | ~5844 | contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison | [5] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emad Shargi | 30 November 2020 | 18 September 2023 | 1217 | Espionage / Spying | Sentenced to 10 years in January 2021. Had previously been cleared in December 2019 | [6] [7] |
Morad Tahbaz | January 2018 | 18 September 2023 | ~2281 | [8] | ||
Baquer Namazi | 22 February 2016 | 5 October 2022 | 2960 | Espionage/Spying | [9] | |
Siamak Namazi | 13 October 2015 | 18 September 2023 | 3090 | [10] | ||
Shahab Dalili | 2016 | In detention | ~2922 | "Aiding and abetting" the U.S. | [11] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Overby | 17 May 2014 | In detention | 3606 |
Name | Detained | Wrongfully* | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trevor Reed | 16 August 2019 | Yes | 27 April 2022 | 985 | violence against an officer | [12] |
Sarah Krivanek | 15 December 2021 | No | 8 December 2022 | 358 | domestic dispute | [13] [14] |
Brittney Griner | 17 February 2022 | No | 8 December 2022 | 294 | possession of hashish oil | |
Paul Whelan | 28 December 2018 | Yes | In detention | 1920 | espionage | |
Marc Fogel | 15 August 2021 | No | In detention | 959 | marijuana possession | [15] [16] |
Eugene Spector | 19 February 2020 | No | In detention | 1502 | bribery and espionage | [17] |
Evan Gershkovich | 29 March 2023 | Yes | In detention | 368 | espionage | |
David Barnes | 13 January 2022 | No | In detention | 808 | child abuse (custody dispute) | [18] |
James Vincent Wilgus | 7 November 2016 | No | In detention | 2701 | indecent exposure | [19] |
Thomas Stwalley | 6 July 2018 | No | In detention | 2095 | intent to distribute marijuana | [20] |
Michael Travis Leake | 6 June 2023 | No | In detention | 299 | intent to distribute drugs | [21] |
Alsu Kurmasheva | 18 October 2023 | No | In detention | 165 | failure to register as a foreign agent. | [22] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Tice | 14 August 2012 | In detention | 4247 | ||
Majd Kamalmaz | 15 February 2017 | In detention | 2601 |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zack Shahin | March 2008 | In detention | ~5874 | bribery and embezzlement | [23] |
Name | Detained | Released | Days in detention | Reason for detention | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eyvin Hernandez | 29 March 2022 | December 21 2023 | 733 | Illegal Entry into the Country | |
Matthew John Heath | September 2020 | October 1 2022 | ~1307 | Terrorism and Arms Trafficking | |
Airan Berry | May 2020 | December 21 2023 | ~1430 | Took part in a Beach landing to overthrow the government | [24] |
Luke Denman | May 2020 | December 21 2023 | ~1430 | Took part in a Beach landing to overthrow the government | [24] |
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 Islamic Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "Evin University" due to the number of students and intellectuals housed 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.
Black sites are clandestine detention centres operated by a state where prisoners who have not been charged with a crime are incarcerated without due process or court order, are often mistreated and murdered, and have no recourse to bail.
Aiat Nasimovich Vahitov, also spelled Ayrat Wakhitov or Vahidov is an ethnic Tatar citizen of Russia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba. He was repatriated with six other Russians in February 2004. Fluent in Arabic, Pashto, Persian, Urdu and Russian, he also spoke basic English.
Roxana Saberi is an American journalist who currently works for CBS News as a correspondent and former Miss North Dakota pageant winner. In 2009, she was held prisoner in Iran's Evin Prison for 101 days under accusations of espionage. She subsequently wrote a book about the experience.
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.
Jason Rezaian is an Iranian-American journalist who served as Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post. He was convicted of espionage in a closed-door trial in Iran in 2015.
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.
Karan Vafadari is a Zoroastrian Iranian-American businessman. He and his wife Afarin Neyssari were regulars in the Terhan art scene and owned Aun Gallery. They were arrested 2016 and placed in Evin Prison on charges of espionage, possession of alcohol, and "dealing in indecent art." They were released on bail in 2018 but, as of 2023, are still unable to leave Iran. He has three children who live in the United States.
Xiyue Wang is a Chinese-American academic who was imprisoned in Iran from 2016 to 2019 after being accused of espionage.
Siamak Namazi is an Iranian-American businessman. He had been detained in Evin Prison in Iran from October 13, 2015, until his release.
Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert is an Australian-British academic in Middle Eastern political science. She was employed as a lecturer at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute and has carried out research into contemporary political developments in the Middle East. The subject of her PhD research was post-Arab Spring Bahrain.
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.
Matthew John Heath is an honorably discharged U.S. Marine Corps veteran, security consultant, and commentator. He took part in the early battles of the Iraq War and was highly decorated for actions taken in the Battle of Nasiriyah. Heath specialized in communication and signals intelligence. After leaving the military in 2004, he began work as a security consultant for the U.S. Govt. On September 9, 2020, Heath was arrested by the government of Venezuela and subsequently charged with offenses related to treason, terrorism and arms trafficking. Following his arrest, his family engaged in a public advocacy campaign in order to secure his release from Venezuela.
Emad Shargi is an Iranian-American businessman. On April 23, 2018, during a trip to Iran, Shargi and his wife were taken into custody by Iranian authorities and held in Evin prison. Emad Shargi was taken to a Tehran court on November 30, 2020, where he was informed that he had been convicted of espionage without a trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, depriving prisoners like Shargi of consular assistance and diplomatic access.
Kai Li is an American businessman who has been detained in China since 2016. The United States government considers Li to be wrongfully detained under the Levinson Act. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Li's detention to be arbitrary.
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.
Mark Swidan is an American who has been detained since 2012 in Jiangmen, China, and given the death penalty for trafficking drugs. In 2019, Swidan was charged with drug trafficking in China and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in Guangdong. On April 14, 2023, the Guangdong court upheld the decision to sentence Swidan to death.
Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist and reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering Russia. He was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service on charges of espionage in March 2023, marking the first time a journalist working for an American outlet had been arrested on charges of spying in Russia since the Cold War. The White House and media advocacy groups have condemned the arrest.