Based on a recent report from the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, there are at least 43 U.S. nationals currently being held hostage or wrongfully detained in 16 countries across the world. The average length of captivity across those cases is more than five years, with six cases enduring over 11 years, the report found.
Russia accounts for 25% of all Americans being wrongfully detained abroad, the Foley Foundation determined.
The latest prisoner swap is welcome news but also raises questions about how foreign adversaries could seek leverage over the U.S. by taking prisoners in the future.
“Russia’s use of humans as international bargaining chips — Americans as well as citizens from other countries — underscores its threat to international security and stability,” the foundation said in a statement Thursday.
Gerskovich and Whelan were being held in Russia on espionage charges, which the U.S. has vehemently denied. Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist, was convicted for spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer rejected.
The Foley Foundation said some Americans being held in Russia, like Andre Khachatoorian and Ksenia Karelina, still have not been officially designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government.
Khachatoorian, a 38-year-old American citizen, has been held in Russia since Dec. 2021 after being arrested while waiting for a connecting flight at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles-based Russian American aesthetician, is being held in Russia for treason after she allegedly donated money to Ukraine. The donation amounted to as little as $50 to a New York-based nonprofit, according to CBS News .
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