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Families of Americans detained abroad want more US government attention, study finds

An analysis of US hostage policy found that efforts to free Americans wrongfully detained abroad are hampered by unclear policies and confusion.
A man holds up a sign in memory of U.S. journalist James Foley during a protest against the Assad regime in Syria in Times Square in New York August 22, 2014. Foley, who was abducted in Syria in late 2012, was beheaded by a masked member of the Islamic State group in an act filmed in a video released on August 19 that also threatened a second American journalist, Steven Sotloff.   REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY CIVIL UNREST) - GM1EA8N0MAY01

As the Donald Trump administration calls on foreign governments to release Americans held in prisons where coronavirus may run rampant, a new report finds that some detainee families are having trouble getting the attention of the US government agencies meant to rescue their loved ones.

Diane Foley, whose son Jim Foley was murdered by the Islamic State (IS) in August 2014, hopes the findings will prevent other families from experiencing what hers went through trying to free Jim, a freelance journalist abducted while reporting on the Syrian civil war.

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