The continuing plight of Americans imprisoned in Iran

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich went to court in Moscow this week, to request his pre-trial detention be under house arrest, rather than jail. No surprise, he was denied. He’s the latest American to be picked up and thrown behind bars by a foreign government – a trend on the rise, according to the James Foley Foundation, and it’s breaking families apart. Three Americans detained in Iran are desperate to be freed, so much so, one of them – Siamak Namazi, made the bold decision to call this program from Evin Prison, and plead with President Biden to help free them all. But weeks pass, and there they remain, hostage to the political winds. Siamak’s brother Babak has been working tirelessly for years to free him, and so has Tara Tahbaz on behalf of her father, Morad Tahbaz who is also detained there. The two of them spoke to Christiane alongside Jason Rezaian, who was imprisoned in Iran himself, before being released in a 2016 prisoner swap.

Also on today's show: Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director, San Francisco Ballet; Laura Trevelyan, former BBC journalist To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices