August 21, 2024

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Multilateralism at the Center of Historic Prisoner and Hostage Release Deal

AP Photo/Eric Gay

Following one of the most complex prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War, a number of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia were released in early August. The historic deal saw the release of U.S. citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, as well as U.S. permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza. The exchange also included the release of a number of Russian citizens and dual nationals who were being held as political prisoners in Russia for their pro-democracy activism and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In all, 24 prisoners were exchanged across multiple countries, with 16 people released from Russia to the West and eight Russians returned to Moscow.

This historic deal is an impressive feat in diplomacy and multilateralism. Domestically, the U.S. will have leveraged a whole-of-government response to securing the release of the Americans, with efforts cutting across multiple branches of government, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies. Furthermore, the negotiations central to the release of the wrongful detainees and political prisoners included intense diplomacy and cooperation by the U.S. with close allies in Germany, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, and Türkiye, which offered the location for the exchange. Above all, and perhaps a surprise to many observers, a deal of this scale was still able to take place in spite of the poor relations between the U.S., Western Europe, and Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Alongside multilateral diplomacy, the immense work of families, former hostages, and employers — like the Wall Street Journal in this case — must also be recognized.

The topic of state hostage-taking remains fraught and complex. Among those released by Russia were Americans declared as wrongful detainees by the U.S. Government under the Levinson Act, as well as a number of dissidents and political prisoners held by Russia. Notable in this exchange is the fact that not all of the individuals released from Russia to the West were dual nationals, but among them were Russian citizens with no other national links. Prominent Putin critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny was set to be included in the exchange before his death in February. In return for these individuals, Western countries returned to Russia spies and convicted criminals, including the convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov held in Germany, and a Russian couple sentenced in Slovenia for espionage.

The exchange continues to shed light on the growing concern around so-called “hostage diplomacy”, also known as state hostage-taking. State hostage-taking occurs when a nation state uses its judiciary to detain foreign citizens as a tool of foreign policy leverage, as witnessed in Russia as well as Iran, China, and other countries. State hostage-taking is a form of coercive diplomacy, and how states choose to respond can raise difficult moral and ethical questions. Critics of this latest deal will caution that such exchanges risk rewarding perpetrators and may only incentivize the practice in the future. The impacts on the integrity of Western justice systems and the rule of law can also be undermined when convicted criminals are released, with victims and survivors of their crimes feeling sidelined. Last of all, prisoner exchanges and hostage deals seldom encompass all individuals in need of release, with some detainees often left behind amidst immense distress to them and their families.

Despite these tensions, the administration of U.S. President Joseph Biden has made the release of U.S. hostages and wrongful detainees a priority — with the current releases from Russia bringing the number of hostages and detainees brought home to more than 70 Americans under this administration. Both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the freed Americans upon their arrival home, signaling the importance of freeing detained Americans as a priority for the administration. What cannot be lost amidst the geopolitical tensions and political wrangling of prisoner exchanges is the human cost at the heart of each case. As states continue to grapple with these cases, they will need to continue to carefully balance two imperatives: to bring their detained citizens home and to deter and prevent the practice. While deterrence must be a priority, it cannot come at the expense of current hostages. As recently noted by the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Ambassador Roger Carstens, the criticism that negotiations only encourage future state hostage-taking is not proving true, as his number of cases has fallen to just over 20. Yet, amidst growing geopolitical tensions and great power rivalries, Western states and citizens will have to continue to navigate this complex and evolving policy area.