The release of prisoners is being pushed by the Trump administration to bring American citizens imprisoned overseas homes.
Kuwait has released a group of American prisoners, including veterans and military contractors who have been jailed for years on drug-related charges. This is a move that is considered a good-willed gesture between the two allies, detainee representatives told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The release comes in the US government’s ongoing push to bring foreign-incarcerated American citizens home following a recent visit to the area by Adam Bohler, the Trump administration’s top hostage envoy.
The six newly released prisoners accompanied a flight from Kuwait to New York by Jonathan Franks, a private consultant working on a case involving American hostages and detainees who were in the country to secure their release.
“My clients and their families are grateful to the Kuwaiti government for this kind of humanitarian gesture,” Franks said in a statement.
He said his clients would maintain their innocence and that the additional Americans he represents would be expected to be released by Kuwait later.
The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The names of the released prisoners were not immediately made public.
A small, oil-rich country that crosses the border with Iraq and Saudi Arabia and close to Iran, Kuwait is considered a major non-Natal ally in the United States.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio paid tribute to the relationship last month when the United States said it was “still in its support for Kuwait’s sovereignty and the happiness of its people.”
Close military partnerships
Since the US began the Gulf War in 1991, it has been working closely with military partnerships to expel Iraqi forces after the invasion of the country by then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, with about 13,500 American troops stationed at air bases in Camp Arifjan and Arialsalem.
However, Kuwait has also detained many US military contractors on drug charges. Their families allege that their loved ones faced abuse while they were jailed in a country that bans alcohol and has strict drug laws.
Others accused Kuwait police of bringing the charges they had been used against them and manufacturing evidence.
The State Department has warned travelers that they could carry a long sentence and death penalty on drug charges in Kuwait.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, his Republican administration has secured the release of American teacher Mark Vogel in a prisoner swap with Russia and announced the release of Belarus, an imprisoned American citizen.
The American who was released Wednesday was not designated as wrongly detained by the US government. This status applies to subsections of Americans imprisoned abroad and ensures that the case is historically handled by the administration’s special presidential envoy for hostage issues.
But supporters of people held abroad hope that the Trump administration will take a more flexible approach and ensure the release of those who are not mistakenly deemed undetained.
“The sad reality is that these Americans were left in prison for years due to false policies that effectively abandoned Americans overseas who were not mistakenly detained before President Trump took office,” Franks said in a statement.
“These releases” “show us what we can achieve when the US government prioritizes bringing Americans home,” he added.
Source link
