Last month, Brittney Griner was finally released from Russia after the United States worked hard to secure her release and even freed a dangerous Russian arms dealer in return for the WNBA star. But since her release, it’s become clear that not every imprisoned American got the same treatment from the United States.
American school teacher Sarah Krivanek was imprisoned in Russia for crimes she claims she did not commit. And she was furious at the United States’ lack of effort to secure her release compared to Brittney Griner, sending a pretty clear message to president Joe Biden.
And now, the family of another imprisoned American is speaking out about a lack of support from the state department.
Zack Shahin has been left literally rotting in a Dubai prison for 15 years with a skin condition that’s eating his flesh.
“He is rotting,” Martin Lonergan, a British activist who met Zack in prison, told Fox News. “If you can imagine a man is dying because he’s rotting … they’re cutting bits of Zack away, and he’s dying trying to fight the infection.”
In an effort to secure his release, his family submitted mercy letters to the State Department on Nov. 23 and worked with the State Department revising their letters until they were finally sent to the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 6.
Meanwhile, the United States was also negotiating with the UAE about Griner’s release, which the country helped facilitate. And the Shahin family was not happy.
“They completely abandoned us . . . they completely pushed us to the side,” Ramy Shahin, Zack’s son, told Fox News. “Maybe we’re not newsworthy enough for them — we’re not famous, we’re just an ordinary family — and they just left us.”
Many were also frustrated that the United States failed to bring home former Marine Paul Whelan, who was also imprisoned in Russia.
[Fox News]
