On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing government organisations to impose fines and other measures in an effort to discourage and penalise the unjustified imprisonment of American citizens abroad.
The action was taken in response to mounting pressure placed on Biden by relatives of hostages and prisoners, most recently regarding the case of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been imprisoned in Russia since February and is currently on trial for drug offences.
However, other families said that the order didn’t accomplish anything in actuality. During a video chat previewing the action on Monday, they blasted the administration for denying them the chance to ask questions, claiming that Washington still had a clear plan for how to bring their loved ones back.
After Griner’s arrest and the recent release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed in a prisoner swap with Russia, the plight of American detainees has received more attention at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are at their worst in decades over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The number of Americans detained abroad is not disclosed by the United States, but the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which was established in honour of an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed in Syria, claims that over 60 Americans are unjustly detained in about 18 different countries.
Some of them are in the hands of major U.S. foes like Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China.
In a call with reporters on Monday, a senior administration official stated that Biden was ‘dedicated to having all these instances addressed and… at the same time, start to bring up a deterrent plan that can raise the cost of hostage-taking and unjust detention.’
The executive order gives agencies the right to charge hostage-takers with fines and other penalties, including financial sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that ‘the sanctions authority included in this E.O. enables the United States to impose financial and travel sanctions on those who are accountable for holding U.S. citizens unlawfully, whether their captor is a terrorist network or a state actor.’
According to US sources, the order instructs federal agencies to communicate with detainees’ families more frequently and provide information, including potentially sensitive intelligence.
Where there is a high danger of unjustified detention, the State Department will add cautions to its travel recommendations. Six nations will receive the notice on Tuesday: Myanmar, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
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