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☆ American journalist Evan Gershkovich marks one year in Russian detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

American journalist Evan Gershkovich marked the grim milestone of one year in Russian detention on Friday as US efforts have yet to secure his release. “This has been a really difficult year for our family,” Gershkovich’s sister, Danielle Gershkovich, said at an event last week. Gershkovich is the first journalist to be arrested on such charges since the Cold War, and the Russian government has yet to provide any evidence to support its claim. “This verdict to further prolong Evan’s detention feels particularly painful, as this week marks one year since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained,” US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said Tuesday. But it is time for the Russian government to let Evan go.”In the past several years, Russia has detained a number of other Americans.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, ”, Danielle Gershkovich, “ It’s, Gershkovich, Evan, Lynne Tracy, “, “ Evan, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Ksenia Karelina, Marc Fogel, Roger Carstens, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Carstens, Matthew Miller, Paul, Moscow, ’ Gershkovich Organizations: Street, Gershkovich, US State Department, ”, Philadelphia Inquirer Locations: Russian, Yekaterinburg, Moscow’s, Russia, American, Moscow

CNN —President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he believes a deal can be reached to release hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, voicing optimism as officials tell CNN prolonged talks to free hostages are nearing an agreement. The broad parameters that are currently being discussed entail Hamas releasing a large group of hostages at the same time Israel frees Palestinian prisoners. Israel recently asked for 100 hostages to be released, according to a Hamas spokesman and a source familiar with the negotiations. A senior Israeli official told that CNN hostage negotiations are ongoing – and are being handled by Qatar, the CIA, and Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. Another factor that had slowed talks was a lack of information about the hostages Hamas is holding.

Persons: Joe Biden, “ I’ve, ” Biden, “, it’s, Biden, Jake Sullivan, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, CNN’s Dana Bash, – Organizations: CNN, White, US, National, Hostage Affairs, Israel, Qassam, CIA Locations: Gaza, Israel, Washington ,, Qatar, Israeli

☆ Biden speaks with families of Americans unaccounted for in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with the families of the Americans who remain unaccounted for in Israel after promising to speak with family members of those who are held hostage by Hamas. The family members joined Biden from both Israel and the US for the video call, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN. It made for a large gathering, as multiple family members joined from different locations in some cases. We are confident that we are in good hands,” she said on “The Situation Room.”Cohen noted that she has many other family members unaccounted for. The US is in “direct communication” with Israeli counterparts and the families, Kirby told CNN’s Poppy Harlow on Friday morning.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, “, ”, John Kirby, Biden “, Roger Carstens, Kirby, ” Kirby, Saray Cohen, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, ” Cohen, CBS ’ Scott Pelley, ” Biden, White, CNN’s Poppy Harlow, Antony Blinken Organizations: Washington CNN, National Security, Biden, CNN, CBS, FBI, Pentagon Locations: Israel, Philadelphia, United States, America, Gaza, Qatar, Afghanistan, Iraq

☆ Inside the crucial final hours as American diplomats tackled last minute obstacles to bring five Americans imprisoned in Iran home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Senior State Department officials spoke to CNN about what happened on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details. The Iranians even threatened not to include all five of the Americans in the release unless the US did more, the officials told CNN. “We held our line and the Iranians backed down and we made it work,” a senior State Department official said. But the Qatari officials, in a smooth diplomatic maneuver, countered that they would be offended if everyone did not eat while on board the Qatari plane and an agonizing final delay was avoided. ET, the US plane carrying the seven Americans, Carstens, Paley and other US officials departed Doha en route to the US.

Persons: Iran Abram Paley, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, “, ”, didn’t, “ They’re, “ We’ve, “ couldn’t, Morad, Emad Shargi, Effie, Vida, Siamak, Karim Jaafar, Carstens, Paley, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden, ” Shargi Organizations: CNN, Senior State Department, Hostage Affairs, Qatari, Swiss, State Department, Central Bank, Doha International Airport, Getty, Defense, “ CNN Locations: United States, Iran, Tehran, Doha, South Korea, Qatar, Emad Sharqi, AFP, Washington, DC, Fort Belvoir , Virginia, PISA, Fort Belvoir

☆ Iran prisoner release: Five Americans back on US soil after release from Iranian detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Five Americans freed from Iranian detention this week returned to US soil early Tuesday following an initial stop in Doha, Qatar, two US officials told CNN. Yay Abram!”Then the freed American detainees stepped off the plane and onto US soil for the first time in more than five years and into the arms of their loved ones, some of whom rushed forward to greet them, carrying small American flags. “We’re home,” Emad Shargi said after embracing his daughters, Hannah and Ariana, and stroking his wife Bahareh’s face. And I know a lot of you are going to maintain the fight to try to bring more Americans home,” he said. Namazi’s mother, Effie Namazi, and Tahbaz’s wife, Vida Tahbaz, who had been previously unable to leave Iran, were also on the flight from Iran to Doha, the official said Monday.

Persons: Emad, Morad, Siamak, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Iran Abram Paley, “, Roger ! Yay Abram, ”, Emad Shargi, Hannah, Ariana, Bahareh’s, other’s, Carstens, Effie Namazi, Vida Tahbaz, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: CNN — Five, CNN, Fort Belvoir’s Davison Army, Department of Defense, Hostage Affairs, Qatari, Washington, Monday, Biden Locations: Doha, Qatar, Fort, PISA, United States, Iran, Tehran, DC, American

☆ US hostage envoy Roger Carstens quietly traveled to Venezuela this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens quietly traveled to Venezuela this week, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to CNN Wednesday. Carstens traveled to the capital city of Caracas for “discussions about the welfare and safety of US nationals wrongfully detained in Venezuela,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of all wrongfully detained US nationals in Venezuela at every opportunity,” they said. ‘Signing his death warrant’The family members of the detained Americans, all of whom have been detained more than a year, are increasingly worried about their loved ones. Tillery told CNN that the US is “signing his death warrant” by not securing Kenemore’s release.

Persons: Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Carstens, ”, “, Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore, Luke Denman, Airan Berry, Nicolas Maduro, Jeana, Tillery, Gustavo Cárdenas –, Jorge Alberto Fernandez, – Jose Pereira, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, Matthew Heath, Osman Khan –, Biden Organizations: CNN, Hostage Affairs, State Department, United Locations: Venezuela, Caracas, United States, Venezuelan

CNN —After spending more than 300 days in Russian custody last year, Brittney Griner made an emotional return to her WNBA home court in the Phoenix Mercury’s 75-69 defeat by the Chicago Sky. The crowd went crazy in applause as she ran onto the court while giving her teammates high fives. “There might have been a little dust in my eye, a little dusty,” Griner told reporters after the game. Carstens joined Griner at the podium after the game, alongside Representative Shelia Jackson Lee, and said it was “emotional” for them both seeing Griner on the court. BG’s family in the crowd and BG back on the court, doing what BG does best which is playing basketball.

“The intentions, of course, were never to cross over to Venezuela, he was just accompanying her,” said Henry Martínez, Hernández’s brother. The men told Hernández that if they wanted to enter Venezuela, he had to pay $100. Hernández told them he was not trying to enter the country and did not have $100. The U.S. has not had a diplomatic presence in Caracas since 2019, so access to jailed Americans has been limited since then. “Sometimes I can hear his voice weak and just frustrated and anxious,” said Henry Martínez.

☆ Brittney Griner immediately shook hands with members of the crew returning her to the US, hostage affairs official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The top US hostage affairs official on Sunday reflected on conducting the prisoner swap that led to Brittney Griner’s release, saying the WNBA star immediately thanked the crew returning her to the United States. We’ll give you your space,’” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”“And she said, ‘Oh no. So when you get the chance to shake someone’s hand, it’s one of the rare moments that you get to celebrate a victory,” Carstens told Bash. So as I am shaking Brittney’s hands and we are going to the aircraft and having this great conversation, my brain is already thinking about Paul Whelan. He said he told Whelan that “this was a case where it was either one or none.”“We weren’t able to get you out of this go round.

WNBA star Brittney Griner arrived back in the United States early Friday after being freed from Russian custody, bringing a nearly yearlong ordeal to an end. Eric Gay / APIn earlier video, Russian media had showed Griner crossing paths with Bout after walking off a Russian plane in Abu Dhabi, where she was met by a U.S. official during the exchange. President Joe Biden, who said he approved the deal that saw Griner freed, said Thursday that she had been "held under intolerable circumstances." In a written statement Thursday night, the Griner family thanked Biden, his administration and others for their efforts. Whelan’s family said they had been told by the Biden administration in advance that he would not be part of the prisoner swap Thursday that freed Griner.

☆ Brittney Griner Lands in U.S. After Russia Prisoner Exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Deborah Ball | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Women’s basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the U.S. after being released from a Russian penal colony as part of a prisoner exchange for a Russian arms dealer, according to a U.S. official. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens tweeted, “So happy to have Brittney back on U.S. soil. Welcome home BG!”

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