Ryan Fayhee Speaks with CBS News and The New York Times about Hostage Diplomacy and American Safety Overseas

In interviews with CBS News and The New York Times, Akin Washington, D.C.-based partner Ryan Fayhee examines the implications of Paul Whelan’s 2018 arrest in Moscow. The former Marine was unlawfully detained in Russia for more than five years while Ryan led a pro bono effort to advocate for his release. Reflecting on Paul’s imprisonment, Ryan says he was “exploited by the Russian government for the purposes of trying to extract a benefit from the U.S.”

Two months after his return to the U.S. as part of a monumental multi-country prisoner swap, Paul spoke to reporters about his experience at a Russian labor camp along with Ryan who described the lengthy process of trying to bring him home. Ryan tells CBS News that his focus remained on the family’s advocacy efforts by helping them “know and understand Washington, D.C. to try to elevate the status of Paul’s case and hold the government accountable for seeking his return.”

As for preventing hostage-taking in an era of so-called hostage diplomacy, Ryan told The New York Times that “countries taking captives must face sanctions or other measures; seizures must be escalated to immediate, high-level attention; and the United States must try harder to keep Americans out of countries with a record of taking hostages, including Russia, Iran and China.”

Find more on Ryan’s pro bono efforts on behalf of the Whelan family here.