Trump order lets US label countries as wrongful detention sponsors
Iran will be reviewed for possible listing as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday granting his administration the authority to label any foreign country a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention for imprisoning Americans.
A senior administration official briefing reporters ahead of the signing said the executive order is meant to deter foreign countries and rogue regimes from unlawfully jailing Americans.
“Those countries or those state actors that hold Americans, there's going to be a massive cost to them, and we are going to cripple their economic systems,” the official said.
Under the executive order, countries and non-state actors designated as State Sponsors of Wrongful Detention could face penalties including economic sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign assistance restrictions and travel restrictions for US passport holders.
