Lawmakers propose ‘National Hostage’ day after Griner release

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers introduced legislation that would establish an annual “National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day,” a move that comes days after Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner.

The bill, introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) as well as Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), would create the commemoration on March 9 and establish an official flag to honor hostages in custody overseas.

“Establishing the National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day will provide another opportunity to honor individuals like Paul Whelan, Marc Fogel, Kai Li, Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, Theary Seng and the many American citizens who are suffering in foreign prisons without due cause,” Rubio said in a statement. “We must show our fellow Americans that they have not been forgotten, and at the same time must stop incentivizing our adversaries to take more Americans hostage.”

The bill’s introduction comes days after the Biden administration announced the release of Griner, who was detained at a Moscow-area airport in February for possessing vape cartridges with hashish oil and later sentenced to nine years in jail.

She was moved to a penal colony with a grim reputation this fall.

The U.S. had considered Griner, who was arrested days before Russia invaded Ukraine, to be wrongfully detained, and the administration agreed to release infamous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was in U.S. custody for charges including conspiracy to kill Americans, in exchange for Griner’s release.

Republicans criticized Biden for freeing Bout and failing to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been in Russian custody since 2018 on espionage charges he vehemently denies. Former President Trump said on Sunday that he previously turned down a prisoner swap offer for Whelan and Bout.

“Brittney Griner’s release and unjust imprisonment has only underscored the need for Congress to continue working to safeguard the lives of wrongfully detained Americans,” said Coons. “I promise to keep unjustly held Americans at the forefront of our foreign policy and work until every last American is brought home safe and sound.”

The date for the proposed commemoration marks the day former federal agent Robert Levinson disappeared in Iran in 2007. Levinson was declared presumed dead in 2020.

Hill and Stevens, who introduced the House version of the bill, serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages and Americans Wrongfully Detained Abroad.

“I am committed to doing everything I can to bring Americans home – this legislation will highlight the horrible situation their families face every day,” Hill said.

Whelan is also one of Stevens’s constituents.

“For nearly four years, he has been held on false charges, working day in and day out in a prison camp, missing holidays with his family and precious time with his aging parents who miss him dearly,” Stevens said of Whelan. “The Whelan family, like so many families of hostages detained abroad, have shown unbelievable strength, courage, and grace in what can only be described as a nightmare situation.”