Event Details
With the recent establishment of an official Hostage & Wrongful Detainee Day by an Act of Congress, the plight of Americans held unjustly captive abroad will receive more of the public attention it deserves. The McCain Institute and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation are hosting two events to commemorate the inaugural observance:
Panel discussion with returned hostages and detainees and family members of those held. The focus will be on the lived experience of each group and what it means for an American to be unjustly held captive.
Logistics
Specific location details and onsite logistics will be shared with registered attendees. Use the links above to register separately for each event.
Background
The official day of observance is on March 9, the anniversary of the day on which retired FBI Agent Robert Levinson disappeared in Iran in 2007. He was declared dead in absentia in 2020.
Conflict journalist James Foley was brutally and publicly murdered by ISIS in 2014. H is death sparked the government reforms that established the U.S. government hostage enterprise.
Servicemember John McCain was held as a prisoner of war for 1,966 days by the Vietcong and refused to be released before other American POWs. Subsequently, as an elected official, he consistently advocated for Americans and others unlawfully or wrongfully held abroad.
