Appendix B: Current Needs, Requests and Recommendations from Wrongful Detainee Participants

This appendix presents a list of current needs, requests, and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families. This list of needs, requests, and recommendations are not listed in order of importance but are grouped by category. Although not all the needs necessarily fall under the purview of the government, they are listed here for reference. The inclusion of a need, request, or recommendation does not necessarily mean it is unanimously supported by participants.

The requests and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families in terms of the wrongful detainee policy and recovery strategy are:

• To create a family engagement coordinator position within the Department of State, similar to the family engagement coordinator at the HRFC, who will ensure that wrongful detainee families receive coordinated, consistent, and accurate information from the U.S. government.
• To designate a specific group within the Department of State dedicated to reintegration.
• For the Department of State to provide clarification on how they classify wrongful or unlawful detentions.
• For more education and awareness for Congressional staffers on detainee-related issues. Currently, there is no mechanism in place for staffers to obtain information on wrongful detainees.
• For the Department of State to provide a pamphlet designed to help families identify available resources and designated offices that will help them navigate their case.
• For the empowerment of the people in charge of hostage and wrongful detainee cases.
• For the SPEHA’s position be filled with someone with the ability to create and lead diplomatic efforts, move policy, effect change, and liaise and engage with all the different agencies involved.
• For the creation of a new position at the national security advisor level (or deputies committee level) to champion hostage and wrongful detainee cases.
• For more guidance on how to prove that a loved one is wrongfully detained.
• For clearer guidelines on what to do and who to contact when an American is wrongfully detained.
• For more coordination between the HRFC and the SPEHA’s office pertaining to wrongful detainees.
• For better negotiation with foreign governments to get loved ones released.
• For the provision of a systematic checklist, instead of an ad hoc method, that explains what to do when an American is held abroad.
• For increased government-to-government communication and coordination to get a loved one out.
• For increased procedures to get foreign governments engaged.
• For the involvement of families more in the recovery process by using more creativity and incorporating family members’ ideas.
• For increased frequency of discussions regarding recovery options.
• For the U.S. to apply more pressure on states holding detainees for them to acknowledge that they are detaining U.S. citizens.

The requests and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families in terms of the priority and U.S. government messaging are:

• For access to high-level U.S. officials (president, vice president, secretary of state, and national security advisor).
• For the administration and Department of State to publicly acknowledge wrongful detainee cases, showing they’re a priority.
• For a press release from the Department of State acknowledging wrongful detention.
• For more coordination with families when/if the U.S. government is going to make a public statement about a loved one’s case.
• For unified messaging from the U.S. government demanding the release of Americans held abroad.

The requests and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families in terms of communication, information sharing, and government transparency are:

• For more communication and increased flow of information.
• For more communication between the U.S. government and third-party intermediaries to decrease the chances of both parties interfering with each other’s efforts.
• For honesty and transparency regarding information about what can and cannot be done. If government officials are not forthcoming, families won’t be able to trust them.
• For the Department of State and Consular Affairs to declassify more information as the HRFC does.
• Once the government learns of a detention of a U.S. national, they should engage with the families first, opposed to the families having to tell the government.
• When the State Department publishes statements about a loved one in captivity, for it to share information with the family about what motivated the government to publish the statement at that time.

The requests and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families in terms of the the physical and mental health support are:

• For psychological support to address survivor’s guilt and trauma from inhumane treatment.
• For compassionate reintegration support.
• For more funding for hostages and detainees upon their return.
• For a thorough medical checkup after release or rescue for returning wrongful detainees.

The requests and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families in terms of financial guidance are:

• For assistance identifying available resources to assist families with the cost of retaining a lawyer.
• For assistance identifying available funding to help returning wrongful detainees deal with financial issues incurred during captivity.
• For assistance obtaining power of attorney, guardianships, and receiverships while a family member is wrongfully detained.
• To allow the next of kin or appointed person to be able to receive information, making an exception to the Privacy Act.
• For the IRS to provide criteria for someone who has been arbitrarily detained in order to relieve penalties.

The requests and recommendations expressed by wrongful detainees and their families in terms of NGO assistance are:

• For support in finding a local human rights lawyer within the United States.
• For the connection of volunteers who work well with the U.S. government to families.
• For efforts to allow volunteers to reach out to former government officials or congressional staff members.
• For the creation of a database consisting of wrongful detainee cases so people can see when similar cases occurred. Inclusion of which members of Congress and State officials were involved to ensure continuity of institutional knowledge.
• Having a champion who can work on behalf of families, navigate all different departments and agencies, work with the attorney general, be legally savvy, well-coordinated, connected, and familiar with the U.S. government.
• For more awareness of which third-party intermediaries families can call on in order to have access to high levels of the U.S. government.

• More hostage and wrongful detainee experts on congressional staffs.
• Provision of wrongful detainees with documentation to prove they were arbitrarily detained.
• Development of a procedural manual provided to members of Congress when one of their constituents has been held so they have a step-by-step process by which they can advise the family members, but also they themselves know how to proceed.
• The filling of vacant positions at the Department of State that were once filled by career diplomats
• For State Department officials to have sensitivity training on how to deal with families that are traumatized.
• For NGOs to train employees who travel overseas, increase security departments in companies and universities, and raise more awareness about the risks of arbitrary arrest.
• Guidance on how a family can get funding to help feed a loved one who is currently wrongfully detained.
• Having people in positions of power who are moved to do something for the greater good and surpass their job description.
• Appointments of Consular Affairs officers with special qualifications to adequately handle wrongfully detained Americans.
• To have a functioning U.S. Embassy in the country where a loved one is held.