WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement today after Russia released multiple wrongfully detained Americans today as part of a larger prisoner swap:
“I am overjoyed at the news of the release of several wrongfully detained Americans from Russian prisons and penal colonies, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich; Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva; and Marine Paul Whelan. I am also delighted to hear that the release also includes Russian political prisoners, such as journalist and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, human rights leader Oleg Orlov, and several key allies of the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. I am especially glad for their parents and families, who can embrace them once again after months or years spent behind bars.
“To be clear, none of those whom Russia has released today did anything wrong. Journalism is not a crime. These arrests have been examples of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cynical ‘hostage diplomacy,’ where he detains foreign nationals to use as leverage against their home governments in an assault on the rules-based international order.
“I am grateful to the work of President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, and the rest of the administration for securing the release not only of American citizens, but Russian pro-democracy and human rights activists who were unjustly imprisoned as well. I will continue to work in Congress to secure the freedom and safe return of other Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, as well as on my legislation here at home to stop tax penalties and damage to credit scores that occur while wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad. No American should have to go through the horror of political imprisonment on false charges overseas, and they certainly should not face economic penalties from their own government when they come home.”
Senator Coons is Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Co-Chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus. In May, the Senate unanimously cleared his Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) to stop the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on American hostages and wrongful detainees for late tax payments while they are held abroad. In June, Senator Coons introduced the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), which would protect the credit scores of Americans who cannot make payments while held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas.