an hour and 45 minutes.

[indistinct conversations] >> good morning.

in congress, and your recognize, my friend. mr. hill: chairman mast, thank you. first, let me start out before i do opening comments and welcome our families and provide introductions for the family members who are here on this very tough, emotional day for them. and a quarter, her husband ryan is a humanitarian aid worker who has been imprisoned in afghanistan since 2022. he is the father of three kids and has been away for 600 days. deborah, her son is a freelance journalist and was kidnapped in syria in 2012. this august will mark his 12 and hopefully final year away from home. my dear friend marion, her father is a texas psychologist who traveled to syria back in february 2017 to treat refugees

and establish a clinic. a day after arriving, he was stopped at a checkpoint outside of damascus and has not been seen since. giselle, her father jimmy is an iranian journalist and software developer who has been detained by the iranian regime since 2020. another, his wife has been unjustly imprisoned in russia since last october on the charge that she failed to register as a foreign agent. a journalist and mother of two, she is accused of failing to register for a u.s. passport when traveling to russia to visit her elderly mother. in addition, we have other representatives to speak on behalf of other detained americans whose family members could not be here today. these include the mother of mark, who is detained in china, the wife of another detained in nigeria, and the wife of mark for will, who is detained in

russia and with that, mr. chairman, let me deliver some brief, opening comments. i want to thank the courage of the families who are coming here today and for their persistent advocacy to the congress and the administration and around the world on behalf of american families held abroad. having a loved one hostage abroad is unimaginable and is a heartbreaking -- and unimaginable heartbreaking circumstance for these families, and one that few americans truly noted i'm proud of the united states and the house for strongly believing in the responsibility that we have to advocate on behalf of the quick and prompt release for these held abroad hostages but also on behalf of the families to make sure they get the information and support from the state department. that is the goal that our government can do, which is act effectively commanded time, i'm sure that instances they are going through are rarer and rarer for the american people. according to the james foley

legacy validation, there are now 50 publicly known americans wrongly detained or held abroad. i really can't imagine the pain those families are going through, and over the past few years, particularly with a family, i spent time with these families, to feel their pain. which is why in 2021, i helped create the congressional task force on americans wrongfully attained abroad with former -- detained abroad with former senator ted deutch. he was traveling to syria and has not been seen since. now today alongside congresswoman haley stevens, democrat of michigan, our hostage task force in the house continues to help families. together, we've made great strides, including making march 9 national hostage and wrongful detainee day. i was proud to work with haley to see that legislation enacted so that our families now have some financial support if they

live outside the washington, d.c., coming to advocate on behalf of their loved one. in every channel of the u.s. government should be working to bring these americans home and this incentivize the wrongful attention of americans in the future by state actors or nonstate actors for this means congress must play an important role in conjunction with the executive branch. a start in 2020 codifying the work of both president obama and president trump, however, more should be done. first, no country or nonstate actors should be able to take an american with impunity, period, these instances should be punished, and they should be a focal point of foreign policy. it should be at the top of every bilateral or diplomatic meeting or negotiation with countries at hand that americans be released before we start that conversation. finally, transparency and mitigation with the families must continue to improve. that is what i'm committed to

come with us will congress is committed to, that is why i appreciate chairman mccall and chairman mast putting together this roundtable. i yield back. rep. mast: thank you. we will leave now to representative jason crow. rep. crow: thank you, chairman mast and mccall for leadership on these issues as well as our colleague, french hill, for your leadership, and haley stevens as well, for the hostages wrongfully detained. i will be sure, because i know no about of words or empathy from us will help you or your families today. the purpose of us is to listen and work with all of you, because we are committed to this, to doing everything possible in a bipartisan way to bring together a whole of government approach to bring our loved ones home. that is the bottom line. that is what we are here today, and with that, i will yield back, and i look forward to your

colleagues -- comments and learning from you and seeing what more we can do. rep. mast: thank you, mr. crow. chairman mccaul has been actively involved in this. he has been doing this throughout his time as a congressman, and i am proud to have him as a calling. chairman, the floor is yours. rep. mccaul: thank you, chairman mast, randy weber crow, french, your leadership on this is extraordinary. i cannot think of anything more painful than to have my loved one of ducted handheld hostage in a foreign land. my wife and i think of all of you very often. i do visit with all of you, previously come in fact, i was with you, sir, at the white house congressional correspondents dinner. i know your wife was of ducted. and all of you, to austin, anna,

it is just -- i also want to note and acknowledge those who cannot be here, who are illegally held overseas, certain families who are not able to join us. i think one hostage is too many, and we are seeing a trend now where it is becoming a practice of foreign governments to take hostages in exchange for a trade. we have americans wrongfully detained in russia, china, iran, syria, afghanistan we remember all of them. as french said, this should be the first thing spoken when the secretary of state visits a country that has detained an american unlawfully. and i do give the administration some credit, but i also want to raise issues. for instance, we traded victor boone, one of the world's most

notorious arms dealers, called the merchant of, for brittney griner, a basketball player who had a vape pipe. if we are going to do a trade, it should be a fair trade, not a lopsided trade, because that only encourages more hostage taking. another miscalculation in my judgment was trading five iranian spies and getting iran access to $6 billion for the exchange of five innocent americans. think about that, iranian spies for innocent americans. and, sir, your wife was left behind in that trade. this is just encouraging more ransom, hostage taking, after we gave iran access to the $6 billion, we saw hamas take 241 hostages from israel, including many americans come and we know that many of them have not

survived in the tunnel in gaza. we should be projecting power, as ranking talked about, we should be sanctions, punishing bad behavior, not rewarding bad behavior. i have five kids, and if there are no consequences to bad behavior, guess what? bad behavior continues, and it just encourages more of that. we need to hold them accountable for their human rights abuses can negotiate from a position of strength, not weakness. today is all about you, it is all about the missing americans. i grieve for you, i think about you every day. i think about not only you but your family. i saw anna at the state of the union with her dear children. i cannot imagine high school kids knowing, having to deal with the fact that their father

is held by the taliban in afghanistan, not going what is happening, what kind of condition he is income and never knowing for sure if he will ever come home. but in each of your cases, we are following up with the appropriate countries and ambassadors to get them returned safely back home. i think of austen, who has been held probably the longest, in a syrian prison. i tell all of you, i cannot imagine the grief. quite frankly, it makes me angry, and we need to do something about it and get them home now. i yield back. rep. mast: thank you, chairman. ranking member? >> thank you, chairman mast, ranking member crow. my heart breaks for each and

every one of you. to me and this is not about politics at all. this is about getting your family members home. i think every american, whether you are the president of the united states, a member of congress, or a person who is just working, sanitation, police, work on the streets, do not want for a loved one held, detained, held hostage in any country. we want them home. you want them home. and it is important we have a whole of government approach. we should not be saying, i won't play politics with this one. it is not about democrat, republican politics, it is not about whether, you know, this is

something that i think that every president, whether it be george w. bush, barack obama, donald trump, joe biden, anybody that holds the presidency, i know they all want to have your loved ones home. i know they'll want to make sure that no american is detained, and i know that they will do anything that is possible to bring them home, but that is not just enough, because it is never enough until they are home, and we can never rest until they are home. it is unimaginable to me the pain that you go through every day, sometimes listening to what

we are saying in congress, that we talk about in congress, you want your loved ones home. and we have got to be committed to do what we need to do to get them home. we know that you also are suffering economically and other ways. that is why i'm glad that we finally did pass a bill to try to help families until your loved ones get here. this is what this is about, for me, it is about getting them home. it is about, you know, when i look at the countries that many of them are being held in, nondemocratic governments, we want to see those changes, but we know that we can't let -- i know i can't rest until your family members and all of those that are detained or held

hostage, in whatever countries they may be in, our home, because the only reason they are being held is because they are americans. so every american has the responsibility come of concern, and the commitment that your loved ones come back to you. you can be any place, your bravery of being here today is just unimaginable to me. the pain that you say you have, so i am here just to listen to you, listen to you and be with you, and until we can get your loved ones home. i yield back. rep. mast: thank you, ranking member meeks paid i doubt recognize each one of you to speak and share with us what you wish about being family of an

american detained abroad. will be recognizing you first, ms. corbett. i would ask mr. beckett, you would not mind joining us as well, representing the family as well as a member of "the wall street journal," some of the members may have russians for you also -- questions for you also. >> will be other members have an opportunity to say word? rep. mast: absolutely. >> thank you. rep. mast: ms. corbett, you are recognized. ms. corbett: thank you. my husband, ryan corbett, was a healthy and selfless american man who committed himself and our family healthy asking people build their local economy and build a better life for themselves and their families. in august 2020 two, having relocated to the u.s. with our

family, ryan returned to afghanistan to check on his vision, a vision he had specifically been encouraged by the taliban to continue. he was granted a visa for this purpose, now for 628 days, he has been held hostage in a basement sale by the taliban services. he has endured unspeakable treatment. if he makes it out alive, our children worry he will not be recognizable to us and unable to fully recover. i'm grateful for the assistance of the many public servants who have worked to bring ryan home, but i must say that this experience has tested my faith in our government close ability to solve the toughest problems. for example, the state department support -- for 14 months did not designate right as unlawfully detained based on a minor policy decision that

should have beensimilarly, it ts for me to be granted my first meeting with representatives of of the national security council. in the past several months, the information coming out of the white house has slowed to a trickle. my pleas for health are simply ignored by the nsc officials responsible for ryan's case i . i desperately want to have faith in these efforts, but as i sit here, i literally have no idea what steps are being taken to rescue my husband. notably when i here in person or am in the media, there seems to be a direct correlation to my speaking publicly and policy -maker attention. it seems to move efforts a little. this is my 11th trip to the capitol. i am exhausted. i caring for three children who am are still processing the trauma of having been without ryan when you need him the most.

[voice breaks] they have only spoken to him five times in over 20 months for mere minutes. i will continue to fight every day but i often feel helpless and alone. there is, however, room for hope. the response and support for ryan in congress has been amazing. i am grateful for new york senators schumer and jewelry brand immediately assessed the gravity of our situation and have been champions on behalf of the family. senator mcconnell has also committed himself to this cause. house of foreign affairs committee chairman mccall has also been a huge advocate for ryan and generously allowed me to share ryan's story for the first time at a public hearing . less than not least, i am also very thankful for my representative, claudia tenney, who have been by our side from the beginning. support culminated in a house resolution with 72 bipartisan cosponsors and a senate resolution passed by both leaders of the senate in time for science 41st birthday

three weeks ago. the taliban very much want to be part of the world community and policy benefits from the united states in particular. and the u.s. seems to be willing to engage and explore areas in which it sees opportunities for progress. there are many public statements from u.s. diplomats involved in these efforts. most recently we have seen public statements about women's rights, education, events regarding environmental consciousness on earth day, specifically, and i quote, "afghanistan is at the forefront of the battle against climate change." these words matter. notably remarkably absent from this dialogue already mentions of ryan or any american citizens held hostage. over $2 billion of aid money has been sent to afghanistan since ryan has been held we should be universally shocked and appalled that the taliban is not feeling an ounce of pain from holding a

u.s. citizen hostage and not allowing him to be visited by doctors or even to speak on a regular basis with his family. in response to formal complaints that we need to do you week, the taliban told the u.s. media that brian has access to doctors and regular telephone conversations with us. things we know are untrue. but to date, that state department has not corrected the record. as i finished, in the absence of any information from the administration and considering these public policy pronouncements, how can i reach any conclusion other than this -- saving ryan's life is not a priority. thank you so much for letting me share my experience and thank you for your interest in ryan's case. i hope it helps in some small way the families who are forced to confront the horrors of hostage diplomacy. we must do better for our loved ones. >> thank you, ms.

corvette. >> so, i am deborah tice, mother of austin tice, held in silence for 4,278 days, which is 11 years, eight months, when week. before i share my thoughts, i would like to answer the awkward question -- is he still alive? yes! often in the lives. and that often is alive, and no doubt eager to walk free. -- -- austin is alive, and no doubt eager to walk free. this is not wishful mom talk, and it would not be prudent, but it would -- they would be prudent for me to share the

source. the united states government needs to be free to engage foreign governments diplomatically, economically and intellectually in order to advance the interests of the united states. this brings me to the issue at hr 3202. which weighs heavily on my heart. it would be profoundly detrimental to the functions of our government for it to be illegal to engage with another country, to prohibit all commerce with another country. two attempts to mandate the foreign policies of our allies. how can disagreements be purposefully resolved if all engagement is forbidden? if the united states government is prohibited and prohibits any business or ally from engaging

with the candy current syrian-arab republic government and its serving president bashar al-assad, the united states of america is effectively condemning often and any other americans detained in syria to life in prison. if our legislative branch insists on codifying the onerous bergen, i must plead that an amendment be attached which allows engagement for the benefit of freeing unjustly detained hostage americans. my preference, and the more noble stance from my country is to diplomatically engage with all countries in an effort toward an end of strife

and beginning of healing, to lead in peacemaking rather than warmongering. i am asking our house and senate to encourage our president, the executive branch, including the state department, to effectively engage with the syrian government in order to secure the release of austin, and any other american detainees. the president and every american entity should always peacefully engage with any entity holding americans unjustly. we should not allow americans to be held hostage. thank you. i yield the floor. >> thank you, ma'am. ms. kamalmaz. >> i am the daughter of majd

kamalmaz. he is an american syrian born in syria and the united states. all his children were born in the united states. i would like to thank you for taking the time to listen to us and listen to our father's horrific situation that he has been going through for the past seven years, and thank you to representative french hill for always being there for my family and for your advocacy to bring him home. my father is an award-winning psychotherapist. he had a heart to care for people. his passion was to help. he found it through mental health. he traveled the world to help those that had suffered the most extreme forms of from a. and the latest was the situation in syria. he set up an institute, international institute for psychosocial development in lebanon where his doors were open to everyone.

he was not there. 's door was open to anyone that walked through, that needed any sort of help. he was there to help and his techniques awarded him the humanitarian of the year award by the institute of the united states. he was very successful at what he did. throughout time, he was recommended to come to syria to see the situation of those that needed his help there as well. as well as to check on family members that were suffering from cancer. he went in from lebanon into damascus legally without any issues, spent the night at a family member's house and next morning was on his first trip into the city when he was stopped at a checkpoint and

wrongfully detained. we don't know why or what happened, all we know is that he did have his american passport on him and they did see him as a very big enforcement person and believed he would be worth negotiating with the united states 4. we were told at that time they tried to negotiate with the united states to do a trade and the united states turned it down. it's been seven years. my father has not been charged with a crime. there has been no case, no trial, nothing. no word from him. how can you be taken at a checkpoint and not be heard from again. if there was anything against him by now we would surely have known. if there was anything against him, by now the syrian government would have actually said we do have him here and he

is alive and well. there is nothing. and the us government has not been successful at having the syrian government come forward with any form of information. can you imagine for us as a family not knowing anything about your loved one for 7 years? if anything did happen to my father, i know it would be a form of torture, a form of execution, possibly murder. how can the government take an innocent person, not give him a trial, no case, no crime and then disappear him and i am supposed to be okay with that, without any form of proof? that's not possible and it won't happen. i need to know whether my father was alive or not. i have to know whether my father is alive or not. my entire family. my grandmother needs to know. we need proof, it's not okay to

just say he is originally syrian. he is an american. we need to know where he is and how he is and if he is alive or not. and went him home regardless of his situation. i would also request we put pressure on the syrians to admit if they have him or how his situation is. it is about time we do come to a conclusion, seven years of not knowing is too long and we come to a conclusion about the situation that he is in. >> thank you, ma'am. gazelle sharmahd. >> members of congress, fellow family members and ladies and gentlemen. my name is gazelle sharmahd.

i am the daughter of jamshid sharmahd. he is a german-american national held hostage in iran on death row. my father did not travel to iran. he did not happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. my dad was kidnapped and taken to iran by force. my father is a journalist using his first amendment rights to advocate for freedom, democracy and our god-given rights, and he knew if we as americans fail to oppose human rights violations abroad like in iran these terrorist regimes and their oppression will find its way to our soil and he was right. this was not my family's first encounter with the regime's transnational terrorism. they have harassed us for decades on us soil. in 2,009 the regime sent their assassins to our home to murder us.

luckily -- that was the first of many attempts to silence jimmy by force. in 2020 the regime agents kidnapped my father during a flight overlay and took him to iran. i don't expect anything but cruelty and violence from their terrorists but our family has been disappointed by our state department officials particularly the former iran envoy robert malley who failed to address my father up critical situation. when the islamic regime showcased the international kidnapping of an american my parading my father under international tv blind father -- blindfolded and forced confession, there was your response from the us. when they tortured him on a daily basis, broke his teeth, withdrew his life savings medication the so my dad could

barely walk, talk, or breathe, and sentenced him to death and what amnesty and other international organizations, sham trial, there was your response from the us. when mister malley and his colleagues negotiated the release of several americans last summer, and without explanation excluded my father and others, our family asking why would we leave the one american hostage in iran on death row in the hands of his kidnappers and tormentors, there was 0 response. last month on march 11th the regime sentenced my dad once again, this time with 62 us officials and presidents to pay 2. $5 billion within a 60 day ultimatum or else they will hang my dad in public from a crane. there was 0 response. this is not just up o-matic

failure but betrayal of american value. you may ask yourself right now how come i have not been informed, have not heard about an american national harassed, kidnapped, and condemned to death? i'm asking myself the same question which i've been very vocal from day one. that is why i want to thank members of this committee and everyone who made this possible today. we last heard from my dad in october. and he could barely make out the words you were saying because he had stepping chest pain and difficulty breathing and as a critical care nurse the first thing i was thinking as i have to immediately call 911 but i can't do that. i can only call on you. when we show 0 response to a state after violating all international law and human rights the reduction in wrongful detention the consequences do not just affect my father and my family but

everyone here and beyond. it challenges the very principle of justice, human dignity and rule of law. in the united states must uphold that. please do everything in your power to right this wrong and bring my dad back home, thank you. >> thank you. prior to me calling on -- would you mind sitting next to anna corbett unless members have questions for you as well, sister in law -- you are recognized. >> thank you. i appreciate this opportunity to speak to you. i thanked chairman mccall for his support as we fight to secure release from russian captivity. back in october, was brutally

-- i appreciate your statement yesterday calling on the state department to designate her as wrongfully detained. since october 18th last year she has been held principle that is prisoner in inhumane conditions. we heard her describe these conditions recently in court. she eats and sleeps feces from a hole in the floor, her health is deteriorating, she's not receiving adequate medical care, she's not been allowed a single phone call with her daughters, this marks 200 days of unjust detention in russia, more than half a year my wife and the mother of are two young daughters has been jailed in russia on charges that make no sense to her or to us. she's accused of being a foreign agent, the only person currently incarcerated on these charges and of spreading what russia believes to be false information about its army in

ukraine. six months on, my children and i are struggling to understand why she was captured, what the russian government wants from our family. it's been a very tough several months for us. i have two daughters at a very tender age, 12, and 15. have been without their mother for almost a year now. i'm doing the best i can as a single father but there's the bond between a mother and daughter. something i can't substitute for. words don't describe the daily pain we go through. radio liberty is a congressionally funded independent news organization. she is now targeted for her

work and for exercising her first amendment rights as an american. she wasn't born american, she chose to become a citizen because of the personal freedom, free speech and expression, freedom to exercise religion or exercise none. becoming an american is a solemn and emotional event. i remember alsu kurmasheva overwhelmed with the notion with tears in her eyes as she pronounced her oath of allegiance to the united states and renounced all allegiance to any foreign state. my elder daughter is turning 16 this summer, two years from becoming a voter in us elections. alsu kurmasheva can hardly count on russia's court system for justice. we want to be sure we can count on the us government for support in our effort to free alsu kurmasheva. the state department about hesitate to declare her wrongfully detained and commit to securing her speedy release from russian captivity. thank you.

>> members are now going to ask questions. we begin by recognizing chairman mccaul. >> let me say it was very powerful, all five of you. let me also say i misspoke. i meant jimmy was left behind, in the negotiations. five uranian spies, and your husband left behind, and $6 billion. all of your cases are devastating emotionally. i know we talk about pavel butorin's wife on radio free europe, now confined in a russian prison, syria and caliban under the worst conditions.

my question would be, this is being carried live by c-span, watched not only in this room, it's being watched around the world right now and it's being watched by our adversaries like that caliban, like bashar al-assad, the ayatollah, vladimir putin and my question for all five of you is what message would you like to deliver to those who are holding your loved ones hostage and what message would you like to send to the administration? to start with you, anna. >> i would say to that caliban, let ryan go. let him come home before it's too late, before he deteriorates, dies. our family needs him. he was only trying to help him.

he has a valid visa, he had run his business helping the afghan people express gratitude to him, he was trying to help. they need to do the right thing and let him go before it is too late. that's what i would say to the caliban. we are praying as a family, as a community, around the world, for his safety, for his return, and we need him back. also i would say to the administration that ryan's case needs to be prioritized. i've heard over and over that it's a priority to bring us citizens home, ryan is a us citizen and i want to see this case truly prioritized. decisions need to be made, we want communication as a family, we deserve that. we need to hear what is going

on. my three teenage kids are aware of what is happening and concern for their dad. and we also had such strong support between the resolution on the senate side and the house side, i don't understand why this would not be prioritized, everyone is agreeing one thing everyone is agreeing on, ryan needs to be brought home immediately so why are we not doing it? that's what i would say to the administration, thank you. >> debra tice. >> addressing syria first, i would say demanding -- addressing the syrian government i would tell them that i believe they know that i have been advocating for

austin's release and that i have been pushing our government ever since they sent me the message on march 3, 2014. send me united states government official of appropriate title to discuss transfers, possession of austin and since that day i have been begging my government, obama, trump, now biden, to engage genuinely, sincerely, to secure austin's release. i would like for you to know that austin has now served to more than two of the punishments of entering your country illegally and as a mother i big you to recognize how hard i have worked to make this happen and i would hope you could offer mercy and allow us to have austin walk free. to my government i would say

the pretty words don't substitute for hard work. i know this is something many people are opposed to but austin's freedom realize on engagement with of the syrian government, sincere engagement with the syrian government and in the absence of that, my understanding is he will stay in a syrian prison. >> maryam kamalmaz. >> my message to the syrian government would also be that this is a human being and he needs a life to live. he's a father, he is a son, he is a grandfathers of 14 grandchildren. we need to know what has happened to him. do the right thing if you want to be recognized as a government, you need to

acknowledge what has happened to them. they can't just disappear people and expect the world to forget. we need to know what happened to my father. we need closure. come forward, please let us know what his condition is, how he is and if he is alive or not. to the united states government, i would say, as debra tice said, there's a lot of pretty words but not as much action. we need serious action. we have both been waiting in the dark to learn about our loved ones. how long is it expected of us to keep waiting for things to drag and drag and drag on for months and months and months, that is not okay. we expect that you do all that you can, just as we've seen you do with so many other families

and other situations, do your best to bring them home, to bring us news about them, to have closure. we deserve closure. >> gazelle sharmahd. >> to the islamic regime i have nothing to say. they are not a legitimate government. this is a terrorist organization holding the nation of iran hostage for 45 years. if i ever talk to them, the kidnappers and hostage takers of my father will be an international court where they will be held accountable for what they've done to my father and their crimes against humanity. to my government in america, my president, my members of congress, the state department, we are four generations of americans, we have rights.

we've been ignored for three years and longer. it took me leaving life-year-old -- 3-year-old daughter at home to come to a sit in strike in front of the state department until they finally after three years talked to us, just talked to us. i would give anything for nice words, haven't heard nice words. the only time they talked about my father was when they said he is also a german citizen in germany will take care of this. the responsibility ping-pong between america and germany is costing my dad his life and that is not okay. we have to step up as a nation. we have to protect our citizens and i mean also us. i am not safe in my house. i am not safe and to the fbi field office in california, when i'm traveling in america i cannot travel to germany without 24 hour protection. that means our failure to

respond to my father, almost assassinated and kidnapped is causing us this distress, this is showing the terrorists you can come and kidnap people and do that to them and nothing will happen to you. i am asking you to help me raise this case and bring my father home and we need investigations to see what was going on last year, why he was left behind. thank you. >> very powerful. >> to the russian government, alsu kurmasheva does not represent a threat, she's not an eye to the store member of the russian opposition but an american journalist, and innocent mother of two young daughters who miss her very much. please let her go. to my government in the united states, the designation of wrongfully detained is long overdue. i understand the designation alone will not bring her home

immediately but this will send a signal to the russian government and also to fellow journalists. i refuse to think of them as ponds and a political game. they are human beings. they should be treated as human beings both by the russians and by the us government. now that president biden is called the white house correspondents dinner on the russian leader to release them immediately, the state department should follow suit and commit to her release as well. my question is simple, does the us government believe that alsu kurmasheva's detention is justified or wrong? is there a suggestion that alsu kurmasheva has broken russian law and this is justified, does it mean that we hear endorse russia's repressive media laws as directed against americans?

i would hope the answer is no. i would like the government to commit to alsu kurmasheva's really said i stand in solidarity with the families and others represented here today. >> we will follow-up but i want to mention, from texas, the houston area, wrongfully detained in china for bogus charges, now he is on death row. i think about his family as well and thank you. >> i hope my colleagues will accept my apology, we have two members who are here to offer statements on behalf of families who couldn't attend, i didn't realize they were here to offer statements so we will recognize those two members to offer their statements.

mitch mccormick, >> thank you for arranging this roundtable. my thoughts and prayers, with the entire family for the pain-and-suffering they have endured throughout this time. he belongs home in the arms of his loved ones and our duty is to dedicate every possible resource to ensure his safe and expedient return to the united states. unfortunately, she has been unable to attend us today at this roundtable. i'm delivering the following statement on her behalf. thank you to members of the foreign affairs committee for hosting this important roundtable discussion. although i am unable to attend in person today i am thankful for the chance to share my story by doing so i hope we can

progress toward correcting a grave injustice. i want to start by acknowledging the strength and courage of the other families here today. whether in person or otherwise. we are members of an exclusive and unwanted club, the loved ones of those held hostage abroad. as wives, daughters, husbands, sons, fathers and mothers we yearn for the day we can be reunited with our loved ones and restore the wholeness that was taken from us. i understand your plight and will think of you and your loved ones every day, hoping and praying for their swift return. my husband and the father of our two young children has been in nigerian custody for 65 days, the longest two months of our lives. on february 25th he landed in a do but at the nigerian government's request for financial compliance policy

meetings with government officials. this is what he does. he helps countries navigate notoriously quickly world of crimes, he spends his days investigating and pursuing criminal activity on the crypto currency platform of his employer. 24 hours after his arrival he was arrested and detained without charge or explanation. it took over two weeks for the nigerian government to fabricate tax related charges. i cannot speak for his employer but the charges against tigre and are utterly baseless. he was lured into the country under false pretenses only to be arrested due to a vendetta against his employer. now my whole family is caught in the crossfire. today my husband sits in a prison, a place that has held militants from islamic state

and ironically he spent most, more than a decade as a special agent for the united states internal revenue service. investigating issues of national security, terrorist financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion and more. he is deeply committed to doing the right thing and has dedicated his life to doing so. my husband who is by nature a person of goodwill, strong moral character be used as a bargaining chip by the nigerian government is devastating. the united states cannot afford to remain passive while it's citizen suffers in the name of political gamesmanship. he has served with distinction. i am asking you to repay this service. i have exhausted nearly every avenue contacting representatives, department of state and even nigerian government. i have called for more people in the last two months than i

have in my entire life. i am trying my best to push the right buttons and pull the right levers that we can correct this injustice. my husband is going through. i hope this will be a catalyst for action. for two decades we've learned to live as a family of three. this is the longest my children have ever gone without seeing their father. they ask me daily when he will be home and every day i try to give them a hopeful answer. i sincerely hope this statement will not be updated in the future because that would mean our efforts to bring my beloved husband home have not been successful. thank you for your time and your dedication to resolving this nightmare. i would like to say as representative of the family i

am proud to sit on this panel and offer a statement. listening to the other testimonies this morning has been incredibly moving. thank you to the committee for holding this important roundtable. i hope all those who are unjustly held as americans are returned home safely in an expedient manner. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, chairman and committee leaders and members for bringing much-needed attention to this issue. thank you for being here to share your story in our prayers are with you as well. i will read the testimony from catherine, he has been detained in china for a decade. these are her words. chairperson, distant which numbers of the committee, thank you for affording me a chance to share my son's story with

you. my name is catherine said super on. my son was unjustly detained in china for 11 years. mark is not a statistically he's a son, brother and her friend whose absence has left a gaping hole in our hearts and family. he went to china to visit and do business and he will leave i hope soon as a former political prisoner. i wish i could be there today but my health is failing and i need to be strong for when mark comes home. over a decade has passed since mark was taken from us and every day without him as a day too long. despite the overwhelming evidence of his innocence and the arbitrary nature of his detention mark continues to languish in a foreign prison deprived of his freedom, his health deteriorating and his hope fading. i don't want my son to become james foley. understand diplomacy is complex and negotiations with foreign governments are delicate, yet we know the chinese government has expressed willingness to resolve my son's case,

presenting proposals that have been met with reluctance or rejection by the biden administration. time is something we do not have. every moment lost is a moment mark is denied justice. a moment our family cannot regain. i'm here today not only as a grieving but determined mother but as a representative of every american family whose loved ones are wrongfully detained abroad, to plead for your help. there are so many of us, we are here in the news recent cases of celebrity cases. who speaks for us? i ask you all to demand the biden administration reconsidered stance, to engage earnestly with the chinese government on mark and all americans. our loved ones are not bargaining chips or political ponds but human beings whose rights and freedoms deserve to be upheld and protected. i read a lot about congress standing up for human rights of chinese political prisoners yet very little if anything about

mark or other americans. as leaders of this great nation i employer not to let the planet complexity standing away of human decency and justice which i am pleading for my son's life, for his freedom and the chance to bring him home. that is show the world the united states of america does not abandon its citizens and we fight for the rights and their return no matter the challenges. a few weeks ago bishops strickland from texas visited with me. we talked and prayed for mark, even in captivity, stood up for fellow prisoners when abused by the chinese guards. mark had his bible confiscated and rosa reed destroyed. as i shared with bishop strickland, he's not lost his faith in god or country. i thank mel gibson who did a video for mark at a mass and many members of congress in texas like senator ted cruz, for not forgetting mark and his plight. so many other people supporting mark. i hope market can meet them all

so he learns he is not alone and not forgotten. i ask your immediate action and commitment to engage in meaningful dialogue and negotiations. the family is counting on you as is mark, please bring my son home. this case has artie set a terrible precedent for hostage diplomacy but my son is still alive and it can end on a high note. this must never happen again to any american. thank you for supporting the congressional resolution on mark last year and for your time and consideration and that ends my statement but i think the committee for working on that resolution at all members of congress for supporting age rose 90 last april. i yelled back. >> thank you. i want to let members know we will expecting our first vote series in 25 minutes. ranking member meeks, you are recognized. >> thank you. i want to thank all of you for

your testimony. you may not think it is enough, but by you being here and speaking, it is something getting out to the rest of the world and all americans, i see a scenario that we've had individuals that have been held hostage are wrongfully detained for years and years. can you hear me now? all right. so dicey that there's a difference. the pain is the same. in your case, aston has been held since 2012.

some have been held for months, just recently. all of these authoritarian governments are doing the same thing over and over again year after year, you can go back i don't care how long. i've been in congress for 26 years, 26 years and it has happened my entire congressional career, people held, and families like you, one, his wife still in nigeria can't get out and i know i talked to members of both sides. when i was chair of this committee, they constantly coming to me, advocating on

behalf of of those loved ones, your loved ones. my question to you, it hurts need because i am part of the united states government, not just the executive branch, i am part of it. all of us are part of it. i heard you talking about coming to talk to congress and give you the opportunity to let americans hear your story. i want to know, what can i do? what can congress do? what's the relationship? what do you think congress can do? we are not powerless here. i know every opportunity i have when i speak to anybody in any of these countries, if i get the chance, i understand your concern about talking to others because that's what diplomacy

is about and if you don't talk to others, especially those you don't agree with, it's hard to get a resolution, we need to try to get that done because those are the individuals, none of them, holding any american, don't like any of them. i agree with you. and that is true, when i talk from administration to administration, for 26 years, doesn't matter. you do matter. your loved ones that are being held do matter. so in your experience in talking to members of congress i want to know what more can we do? i don't want to push it off on anybody else.

i've been on this committee for a long time. what more can we do. your reactions from talking to us, what do you think we need to improve? we can go down -- we can go down, tell me what can we do? >> thank you. i first want to say in my experience i have received incredible support from all of you and many others on the hill. it has been truly upright in this nightmare. i am extremely grateful. i would say that outreach to the state department and the white house, asking for

briefings has been very helpful and all of those show that our case is a priority and important, it matters. that is something i would say i have had a good experience with but more of that and for all the cases, that is what i would say makes a difference and coordination of that, bipartisan coordination, letters asking this to be prioritize, asking those hard questions, they are stuck, what is the issue, what needs to, how can the next step be taken comes to my mind.

>> my congressman. congressman greene, has been holding my hand for over 11 years. i would like for him to answer this question on behalf of our family. >> the chair yield to me. thank you, mister chairman. first, please let me thank all of you for the efforts that you have made. it means a lot to this family and i believe to all of the family so if i may thank you. i think miss tice makes an excellent point, and chairman meeks, thank you for following up on it with reference to having dialogue. i can think of but one reason why we shouldn't talk to those who hold persons hostage, but one. and that is if the families

choose not to have us do so. other than that i can think of no reason. of the families don't want us to talk we don't talk. but if these families want us to talk and advocate, i think we ought to do it. i don't think we should leave any stone unturned, i don't think there's a bridge too far, i don't think there is a price too high. every one of them regardless of what they do makes no difference to me. human beings being held hostage need to be brought home. debra tice, i want to thank you for the courage you have shown over the years. this is not been an easy journey for you. you have been to syria. you went to syria yourself. you tried to speak to bashar

al-assad your self. i don't know what the solution is but i know what it isn't, and it is not isolating ourselves from for people who are holding our people hostage. i would say that to any president. not to cast any shade as we say on anybody. it is just this is very painful so i thank you, debra tice, for the courage you have shown. i don't know if i have responded a properly but that was in my heart and i had to say it and i thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you for having us ask you something that you could

help us with, we are here for this reason. first as a family, we really want to know our father's fate as of right now. we need proof of life or proof of death as well as we need to continue the direct communication with the syrians to find out what happened. without their communications, won't stay anywhere, we will stay in this loop forever and that's not going to happen. it's not possible. there needs to be a form of negotiation, of clarity between the united states and the syrians about the state of our loved ones. i recommend that this needs to be addressed and pushed forward on in order for any sort of information to come back to us, to help our families cope with

what is going on and if anything happened to my father we want him back home regardless. that is my ask to continue pushing, if there is any information the government is holding back from us we need to know, as well as direct communication to find out what happened. >> first of all i want to thank you for having this hearing. hearings like that are so important to me, my family, my father who has been ignored by the media and the administration. just being here means the world to us. the regime can see we are not forgetting people who have been kidnapped. i want to thank my lawyer and a you have done wonderful things from day one. make it possible for us to come here and be here and take part in this.

what i wish from people in congress is first of all congressional oversight, what is going on, how we are dealing with hostage cases, who is making decisions on what grounds, we should not have this leverage, like britney griner -- celebrities to get equal rights over here but what every member of congress can do is what my congresswoman has done, speak on the house floor and speak about and bring us the names of everybody's names up there. when we get ignored, when you are out there and asked the same questions they cannot ignore you and they have to answer those questions we are bringing up and resolutions happen, bipartisan working letters, doing something, doesn't matter if you are republican or democrat, this affects all of us.

what i would like to see, may be above and beyond. we have hostages from europe, from australia, from canada, we have hostages in gaza from all over the world. this seems to be a global problem. if it is a global problem why are we not working together with our allies to use everybody's leverage to put pressure on these regimes and not pressure on the families and us to release those hostages and find a solution? >> i'm caught in a situation where the russian government provides no information about alsu kurmasheva. obviously, the wrongfully detained designation is very opaque to the families of those detained. i received little information from the us government. we are caught where we don't know what is happening. the free world must engage with

bad actors, that's a fact of our lives. i'm often told that the us has little leverage with russia. there's got to be leverage. my children are under the impression they are citizens of the most powerful country in the world, we want to see that in action. i think we should try to facilitate contact with third parties. there's got to be something that can be done through other parties, someone does talk to the russian government, i will say it again. american journalists are not ponds in a geopolitical game. they are human beings and should be treated as such. >> representative hill. >> thank you, chairman. this is such an emotional day for all of us, we sit with heavy hearts whether the story is just for a few weeks or a

decade. we stand in solidarity with you, we were proud to have them in the gallery for the state of the union, corbett, proud to have you in the state of the union, you are not forgotten, this group of people here today are committed to carrying that message and pressing the state department and foreign governments. i want to start with the state department. you gave a nice sort of timeline of your relationship with states since the taliban and, 14 months it took to designate him as wrongfully detained. you just referenced that she had not been so designated. to the process of being designated wrongfully detained, how long does that take and

what was that process like? what was the interaction from your viewpoint to determine as a spouse that okay, wrongfully detained. tell me about that. >> pretty hard in that case, the process to officially designate ryan, and -- >> they asked you information, it is a state department process. >> it was at the state department for a really long time. legal parts of it, they had all the information. chairman mccall was a huge part

of getting that unstuck. it took much too long to get that official designation. >> tell me about that case? the reason i ask these questions is for the chairman and ranking member. make it more clear, have some clarity in the determination process. >> most if not all of the criteria. the state department has been assessing totality of circumstances around her detention. other than that i have little information, no visibility to that process. and designated with those affairs, appreciate their work. >> until they are designated

they are dealt with and connected to the country and diplomatic channel if we don't have diplomatic relations. >> that is correct. once designated, moved to the office. >> anyone else have a comment on this designation issue? >> we submitted -- >> my brother is involved. >> almost two years. >> wrongfully detained by the united nations working group, and human rights watch, we are waiting for the state department to designate them. we met 8 of 11 criteria, he is supposed to meet only one but we don't know. they keep telling us when you have new information they have everything. >> very helpful and this is --

i will let you speak and conclude. the levinson act is functioning like we wanted to. chairman mast and chairman mccaul coming in that assessment process on evan's case. >> assistant editor of the wall street journal working full time to try to secure evidence. appreciate participation today and regret they were unable to attend. the other end of that experience, evan was designated in 12 days after he was taken. we were grateful for that and feel for every one who was not so designated. special presidential invite's office does a very good job, doing a very good job on family

issues, efforts to find a solution that will bring evan home. it is apparent, what it has been for everyone who has spoken today that there are inevitably other parts of the united states government that are intimately involved in this. and the special presidential envoy's office is by no means the end of the process. mentioned the national security council, the grass quits family is relying on president biden's promise to bring evan home and hope that would include, anyone wrongfully detained in russia's case, and others. it involves many parts of the government who sympathize with any calls for greater transparency and overall

process work that goes beyond the question of being wrongfully detained because it can be hard to tell which parts of the government is responsible and in the end it will come to the oval office. >> i yelled back. i thank you for being here, your incredible advocacy for your families and to work with us on your behalf to bring them home. yield back. >> action is not wrongfully detained. i will have to tell you that the state department is soaked, soaked in vitriol for syria. they want nothing to do with syria.

as far as austin, it's necessary to engage with syria, to do the things you have to do with a hostage. you won't get hostages home, doesn't matter if they were holding one on a farm somewhere. they got the message from the syrian government. into arrest record, six weeks after being detained. we love those off ramps. we can't have a negotiation with the syrian government. one of my favorite sesame

street parts with a ram and a sheep on the cliff, on a very thin thing and run into each other. we are moving, we are not moving either. they are just standing there and neither one of them is getting anywhere. finally they have this great idea. this one hops over that one and this one hopped over that one and away they go. somebody somewhere has to come up with the idea that we are going to have to do the three steps of hostage recovery. engagement, dialogue, confession, freedom depends on it. >> i would be happy to yield my time to miss stevens who is doing a lot of this work if that is okay with you.

>> thank you for assembling. it is very intentional. russia, afghanistan, syria, iran, russia again. they are coordinating in some respect, they are holding your family hostage. this is a form of collective torture. it is not acceptable. you bring up a good point. about coordinating at the international stage, mr. whelen of michigan designated

wrongfully detained passports. we've seen some of that coordination in action. across a multitude of governments. yet here we sit. this cannot be acceptable on the global stage. these are in many respects adversaries or sworn enemies but it doesn't mean we can't have dialogue. mr. hill's great question about how the further exercise the tenets of the levinson act which i truly affect our foreign affairs committee leadership, mister mccaul and mister meeks for being such diligent partners rings so true here. i am furious. i would like to know for the record, when is the last time

you spoke to your loved one? and when is the last time, the united states government spoke to your loved one? we know that in those communications, a lot of time what wants to be said cannot be said. we are being manipulated. as a government and as a population, if we don't get the chance to speak but i really believe it is important to hear directly from you and i want to recognize, it is so important that you are here as an employer. ..employer. i will never forget the day paul leland was let go by his employer and there is a whole backend you and loved ones carry. loss of home, loss of income, loss of dignity.

paul's dog had passed away, never got never got to say goodbye, things along those lines. and so i just encourage all of you at the "wall street journal" because it is costly to do what you were doing on behalf of of mr. dershowitz and his family. this is partly why when we passed the ndaa and included in the ndaa support and resources. i look at debra, what would that unlike for june for 12 years of the resources? can you even access the resources because austin is not designate wrongfully detained? when i talk to resources, support to come here because we need to all hold the feet to the fire. those of us as members of congress and a map of administration.

but if we can be very important here when is a last time you have spoken to your loved one, heard from your loved one? and when is the last known time that the united states government had asked that? >> thank you for your comments. i think your point is well taken because, and sooi many of these cases this is an issue for american business doing business overseas. if the u.s. government can guarantee the safety of its citizens overseas that is an impact. evan has been corresponding with his parents and his family fairly regularly over the last year and one month. and he has received visits from ambassador lange casey, u.s. ambassador to moscow, or another representative approximate every four or five weeks. in the beginning it took a long time, i don't think his first

visit was until new the end of may, so almost two months out but since then were very grateful for it. it's been approximate five weeks schedule for embassy visits. [inaudible] >> he is awaiting a trumpet we have no information which is part of the frustration -- waiting at trial, and when any, a or evidence has been present. thank you. >> you say something? >> i just, we owe it to my brother in law who is in jail in dubai, and allied country for the last 16 years. he's on the 17th year now. he is 60. you need sizzurp another 40 years. he will be 100, then he will be released. it's an alleged financial crime. not going to get into details of busy guilty or not guilty. just assume is guilty of all charges of financial content 56

years in jail term. but we have all the proof that he's not guilty. i will get into that. i will just say that he is seriously ill, both physically and mentally, and we've been screaming this out. u.s. government was convinced in march 2023. they submitted an official request to thear uae governmento release it on humanitarian grounds for medical reasons. it was submitted in march 2023. there is no response. that's what we get from the u.s. government. what happened? you are convinced come he's sick, he's dying. where's the response? they are our friends. can secretary blinken or president biden pick up a phone come talk to our friends? or onbi human reason, you know, humanitarian thing. his family is waiting for him. we don't want it in a gasket. when one of debt. we want them alive. ten u.s. government do something? you are convinced, you put in writing, , you sent this reques.

just work on it, do something. you don't even label him as wrongfully detained, though the whole world has labeled him. we showed allll the evidence. we showed lack of due process in dubai. is it just because it's an allied country? we don't want i to touch them, e don't want to offend them, we don't want to wreck any trade thing? what is the reason? i mean, they should be an easy case. it's noty like the other cases. those countries are enemies but this is an allied country, and we've got all the proof. we submitted tons of documents and they just, you know, yes, we hear compassion but the guy is dying, literally dying. we don't wantly him back dead. his wife, my sister, has been waiting for him for the last 16 years, and that's his son picky was a kid and a sister. they waited for them and finally they got married last year without him. he didn't walked his daughter dn

the aisle. he missed the graduations. he missed everything. he's missing his life. that's all i can say. the u.s. government can do a lot lot more. give it more attention, take it seriously before he dies. thank you. the. >> my last call with ryan was march w 26. that was 12 minutes long. we got five calls in the last 628 days. he has received two visits by the qataris, are protecting power with afghanistan. and we are, jack, desperate to have been seen by a doctor as his health is declining, and hopeful for more contact. i've had two pictures that come to me, and he looks, in the last

one on december 25, he had lost a lot of weight and looked really haggard and aged. that's all the contact that we had with him. >> the last time i hugged austin was january 2012 when i took them to the airport to come back to d.c. and the last time i i spoke tm was on his birthday, august the 11th of 2012. the last time my husband spoke to him was the day before he was detained,as august 13 of 2012. and that is, we've had no contact with austin since he was detained. >> we are in a similar situation. the last time my mother had contact with my father was on february 14, 2017, when he let

her know he had arrived to a family members house in damascus syria and he told her i will call you back soon, and he never did. it's been over seven years. we've had no contact with him whatsoever. and with that no u.s. official contact him as well, no visits. >> from the u.s. -- no one from u.s. has spoken to your son either, deborah? >> last time we had a sign of life for my father was in october, october 15. he was allowed one phone call with myy mother. these are highly supervised phone calls of course with a regime agent sitting around them and stopping the call if we ask any kind of questions that they don't want to be asked, or if you give us any kind of

information. because nobody knows where the father is being held and nobody has seen for the last three and a half years. the german government for the germann embassy has try to reah out. they are not allowed to.ou as for as i know the swiss government hasn't even tried to reach out and none of the officials have tried to reach out. i just wanted to add, being in solitary confinement for 1350 days, we can't even imagine a thicker but he remembers being on lockdown for for a couplf weeks during the pandemic in her own home. my father is now 192 weeks on lockdown without seeing sunlight, without talking to his human being that doesn't want to kill or torture them.m. so they are slowly killing him over there. one more point maybe if i may add to the designation. there's deathly something wrong with the process. we have had the work, the u.n.

working group on arbitrary detention designate my father wrongfully detained already in 2022. the u.n. is usually very graceful because hesketh all the lawyers. they did this before our l state department is doing it. in five americans were released last year in the prisoner swap, three of them were designated, two of them didn't even have a trial in iran. they were there for a couple of months. they were released. it seems like it is very arbitrary on who we wear designating when we're designating o them and who we ae bringing back, so that's another point i would like to have investigated and raised by you. thank you. >> my communication, even my written communication is quite limited since her arrest in october last year. the russian, has her phone calls with the family. we haven't really interacted with her. we'veh only heard her voice once

when she was like to speak to journalists in court on april 1. as she revealed a a lack of bc amenities and inadequate medicav care. the kafkaesque absurdity of our situation is that she is accused of being an american agent that the russian government has barred any access to consular staff in moscow. so she hasn't been able to speak to anyone from the u.s. embassy. two two american diplomats han able to travel. they were at a court hearing once and also was very happy to certain faces and courtroom. but of the bad she said no contact with consular staff. >> they have called a vote for

all of us. i'm going to recognize thell remaining members, mr. crowe and mr. issa for any statements they may have as well. we do thank you for taking the time to come and speak to all of us, for your engagement with this constantly. my statement on americans being held abroad would simply be this. it's unacceptable. there should be every expectation that if you are an american that there is an american coming to get you, whether that's an american diplomat or an american shooter, that can be decided by the should be an american coming to get you, and that should be the line for the united states of america. with that, i recognize mcauley, mr. crow. >> thank you, chairman mast and chairman mccaul for supporting calling the sharing, and my other colleagues around the table hook done a lot of work for your individually as well as generally on policy on this issue. this was an incredibly helpful and enlightening roundtable for me. id learned a lot and i know it

took a lot o of courage to do ts because some of you did not take lightly the decision to go public with your advocacy.ec i know some of you actually have struggled with that because there are trade-offs for the family and for your loved ones as well. thank you foror those of you who have made that decision and for those of you who are listening to the sharing at home that are in similar situations because there are families of loved ones who might bee sitting at home, you are seen, you are heard by others. we are working diligently and we will do everything possible to d support to families and get your loved ones home. thank you.ho >> thank you mr. crow. mr. issa, anything to add? >> there you go. >> look, probably everything has been said by people while i was in another meeting. so i will just suffice to say, you have our sympathy could you also have a recognition that we

have concentrated on hostages in gaza recently. we've looked at a lot of areas. many of you particularly syria and iran, your loved ones are in countries where we don't have diplomatic relations, afghanistan, also. and that makes it harder but it doesn't give an excuse for us not to insist on, through counterparts, that any relationships that those countries want to have our contingenttr on putting at least the recognition, the well-being and the visitation of do your loved ones. and then ultimately the release, you know, russia is a class exam with us alwaysxa a price to trae somebody. if something is a spy, they're happy to trade for one of theirs. that has been going on since before i was born. this chairman and the chairman of the subcommittee stand ready to do any pressure we can on our country, but also on things, for

example, i know nigeriao is not here right now, but we haven't a package to nigeria, and that demands that the be some greater engagement. we still of diplomatic relations with china, and yet china ignores american human rights. this committee does care about it. i want to thank you for being here. on strike that accumulate from another committee, but my office is happy to follow up with any of you with specifics. deborah, that would be particularly related to your side. thankteou you. >> thank you, mr. issa. thank you to all of our family members and advocates, and we stand ready for you.oc thank you. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] the [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> an update on the status of you was journalists abroad including austin tice who was kidnapped in august 20121 reporting in syria and "wall street journal" reporter evan

gershkovich arrested in march 2023 and charge was fine and russia. family members and colleagues are expected to participate. you can watch this national briefing like today at 90 in eastern on c-span2, c-span now a free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. >> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what's happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with the days because defense with live streams and floor proceedings entering from the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episode of "washington journal" and find schedule information for c-span's tv networks and c-span radio, , plus a variety of compelling podcast. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play. scan the qr code to download it for free today or visit our website c-span.org/c-span