Kuwait frees 10 jailed Americans, including contractors held on drug charges

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Kuwait has released 10 American prisoners, including veterans and military contractors jailed for years on drug-related charges, in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill between two allies.

“President Trump has made it a priority to bring home Americans detained overseas. We are pleased that Kuwait has released Americans from prison,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that said the detained Americans had been pardoned by the country's ruling emir in recognition of Kuwait's National Day.

“Kuwait is a vital ally in the region, and we look forward to continuing to work with Kuwait and other partners in these efforts across the world,” the spokesperson added.

The statement confirms earlier Associated Press reporting about the releases that cited a representative for some of the 10 who were freed.

The release follows a recent visit to the region by Adam Boehler, the Trump administration's top hostage envoy, and comes amid a continued U.S. government push to bring home American citizens jailed in foreign countries.

Six of the newly freed prisoners were accompanied Wednesday on a flight from Kuwait to New York by Jonathan Franks, a private consultant who works on cases involving American hostages and detainees and who had been in the country to help secure their release.

“My clients and their families are grateful to the Kuwaiti government for this kind humanitarian gesture,” Franks said in a statement.

He said that his clients maintain their innocence and that additional Americans he represents also are expected to be released by Kuwait later.

The names of the released prisoners were not immediately made public.

Kuwait did not acknowledge the release on its state-run KUNA news agency and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and its upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday typically see prisoner releases across Muslim-majority nations.

Kuwait, a small, oil-rich nation that borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia and is near Iran, is considered a major non-NATO ally of the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio paid tribute to that relationship as recently as last month, when he said the U.S. “remains steadfast in its support for Kuwait’s sovereignty and the well-being of its people.”

The countries have had a close military partnership since America launched the 1991 Gulf War to expel Iraqi troops after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the country, with some 13,500 American troops stationed in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem Air Base.

But Kuwait has also detained many American military contractors on drug charges, in some cases, for years. Their families have alleged that their loved ones faced abuse while imprisoned in a country that bans alcohol and has strict laws regarding drugs.

Others have criticized Kuwaiti police for bringing trumped-up charges and manufacturing evidence used against them — allegations never acknowledged by the autocratic nation ruled by a hereditary emir.

The State Department warns travelers that drug charges in Kuwait can carry long prison sentences and the death penalty. Defense cooperation agreements between the U.S. and Kuwait likely include provisions that ensure U.S. troops are subject only to American laws, though that likely doesn’t include contractors.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, his Republican administration has secured the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel in a prisoner swap with Russia and has announced the release by Belarus of an imprisoned U.S. citizen.

The Americans released Wednesday had not been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained. The status is applied to a subsection of Americans jailed abroad and historically ensures the case is handled by the administration's special presidential envoy for hostage affairs — the office that handles negotiations for a release.

But advocates of those held in foreign countries are hopeful the Trump administration takes a more flexible approach and secures the release of those not deemed wrongfully detained.

“The sad reality is that these Americans were left in prison for years due to a misguided policy that had, before President Trump took office, effectively abandoned Americans abroad who hadn't been designated wrongfully detained,” Franks said in a statement.

“These releases," he added, “demonstrate what is achievable when the U.S. government prioritizes bringing Americans home.”

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.