Brittney Griner is free, but the number of Americans wrongfully held abroad has risen SIXFOLD

Brittney Griner returned to the United States on Friday morning, but the basketball star’s new release highlights the increasing difficulty of getting out the growing number of Americans wrongfully detained abroad, activists say.

a recent to study by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation shows that an average of 34 US citizens were wrongfully detained by foreign governments each year between 2012 and 2022, an increase of 580 percent over the previous decade.

The foundation, which pushes for the release of those held by foreign governments and armed groups, found that at least 19 countries unfairly caged Americans in 2022, most of them global adversaries of the United States.

Diane Foley, the organization’s president, lamented how the challenge of getting detainees back to the US was becoming “more complex, more pervasive and more frequent.”

Griner was freed by Russia on Thursday in a prisoner exchange for arms dealer ‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout, who had been imprisoned in the United States. In April, Moscow released former US Marine Trevor Reed after more than two years behind bars in the country.

But the Biden administration failed to secure the release of US Marine Paul Whelan, who has served nearly four years of his 16-year sentence for spying against Russia. His family insists that he was in Moscow to attend a wedding.

Speaking to CNN, Whelan said he was “very disappointed that more hasn’t been done to secure my release” and that he couldn’t “understand why I’m still sitting here.”

According to the foundation, the number of Americans being held abroad is rising because it takes longer to negotiate releases, as highlighted by months of on-and-off talks between Washington and Moscow to cut off the Griner trade.

Meanwhile, the number of nations improperly holding Americans has risen from four to 19 since 2001, three-quarters of which are in Iran, China, Venezuela, Syria and Russia. The numbers in the hands of Moscow and Caracas have increased faster.

“Increasing numbers of US citizens are being detained to secure political influence” by governments with “tense or antagonistic relations” with Washington, says the 12-page report, which was published in September.

The number of nations improperly holding Americans has risen from four to 19 since 2001, three-quarters of which are being held in Iran, China, Venezuela, Syria and Russia.

Governments with “tense or adversarial relations” with the US are taking prisoners to “secure political leverage” against Washington, the researchers say.

Investigators called for the US Secretary of State to classify more of the foreign detainees as wrongful detainees, more action from the White House, and more money and support for the families of the detainees.

Griner, 32, flew from Moscow to Abu Dhabi in a private jet on Thursday morning and walked the tarmac to his plane home via Bout. He had faced nine years in a Russian penal colony, toiling in exploitative conditions.

Addressing the nation from the White House on Thursday, the president said Griner was “in good spirits” as he returned home, and that reuniting wrongfully detained Americans with their families was a “priority” for his administration.

“I don’t want any American to be unfairly detained for another day if we can bring that person home,” Biden said.

The Biden administration failed to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former US Navy officer accused of spying against Russia.

Russia released former US Marine Trevor Reed in April after more than two years behind bars in the country

“My administration has now brought home dozens of Americans who were wrongfully detained or taken hostage abroad, many of whom had been detained since before I took office.”

Indirectly addressing concerns raised by Whelan and his family, the president said from the podium: “This was not a choice of which American to bring home.”

“We have not forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for years,” Biden said. “Unfortunately, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s.”

And while we still haven’t managed to secure Paul’s release, we’re not giving up. We never give up.’

Biden said the White House remains “in close contact” with the Whelan family and commiserated with their “mixed emotions” over Griner’s homecoming.

We will continue to negotiate in good faith for Paul’s release, I guarantee it. I tell the family. I guarantee it,’ said the president.

“I urge Russia to do the same, to ensure Paul’s health and humane treatment is maintained until we can bring him home. I don’t want any American to be wrongfully detained and one more day if we can bring that person home.

Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian penal colony after the Biden administration was able to reach an agreement with the Kremlin on a prisoner exchange.

Austin Tice, a former US Marine and freelance journalist seen here in an online video clip, was kidnapped in August 2012 while reporting in Damascus. His family believes he is alive and still being held in Syria, but the identity of his captors is unknown.

The president did not mention American Marc Fogel of Oklahoma, a teacher who is also being held in Russia on marijuana-related charges.

Griner was sentenced in August following her February arrest at a Moscow airport, when Russian authorities say she was caught entering the country with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

The months-long imprisonment of the two-time Olympic gold medalist drew attention to Russia’s wrongful detainee population, while adding pressure on the Biden administration to complete a prisoner swap for Griner’s release.

Russian and US officials had expressed cautious optimism in recent weeks after months of tense negotiations, with Biden saying in November that he was hopeful Russia would reach a deal now that the midterm elections are complete. A senior Russian official said last week that a deal was possible before the end of the year.

By freeing Bout, the United States freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel and one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. Bout, whose exploits inspired a Hollywood movie, was serving a 25-year sentence on charges of conspiring to sell tens of millions of dollars worth of weapons that US officials say would be used against Americans.

James Foley, seen here in Libya, was captured and detained by Islamic State militants in Syria, and was beaten to death in a videotaped beheading in 2014. His mother, Diane, founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation as a tribute.