Presidents at the Ready

Officially, the U.S. Department of State guarantees the defense of American citizens who find themselves behind bars abroad.

In fact, it never gets tired of reminding Americans travelers that they should demand that local authorities be quick about reporting cases of arrest to U.S. embassies.

As a rule, American consulate employees attend all proceedings relating to U.S. citizens, help them select counsel and assist in the transfer of money from relatives and other necessary processes. “We are prepared to offer all assistance within our means to American detainees and their families in accordance with international law,” State Department officials reported to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. A number of concrete measures were mentioned, including the monitoring of the conditions of prisons in foreign countries, guaranteeing the rights of detainees or convicted Americans and guaranteeing non-discriminatory treatment.

In the case where an American citizen ends up staying behind bars, then U.S. consulate representatives will make regular visits to their countryman, monitor his health and report any developments in the prisoner’s case to the State Department. If an American prisoner does not have sufficient funds to pay for medical treatment while behind bars, then funds may be offered to him in the form of credit through the Emergency Medical/Dietary Assistance program, a special government program for emergency medical assistance to U.S. citizens detained in foreign prisons.

However, often enough in the process of advocating for the interests of its citizens who have been arrested abroad, bigger players than State Department officials get involved. Such applies to the remarkable story of the American Lori Berenson, who was arrested on charges of organizing a terrorist attack in Peru, and in 1996 a closed court sentenced her to life imprisonment. However, by 2000, under pressure from non-governmental organizations, the White House and Congress, the judgment against Berenson was transferred to the jurisdiction of a civil court and reviewed.

It is remarkable that several U.S. presidents spoke out in defense of Berenson, from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton and George Bush, who even tossed around the possibility of exchanging her for Peruvians held in American prisons. Congress discussed special resolutions in support of Berenson, including blocking economic aid to Peru and the human rights organization Amnesty International declared her a political prisoner to give greater resonance to the issue. Although Peruvian authorities, under pressure, replaced her originally harsh sentence with a term of 20 years in jail, by 2010 the U.S. citizen was already released under house arrest.

By the way:

Another illustrative story involves 18-year-old American Michael Fay, who was sentenced to several months in jail and caning for stealing road signs and vandalizing cars in Singapore. Despite the fact that 20 U.S. senators signed a letter to the government of Singapore, the sentence was carried out. Angered by such treatment of its citizen, Washington retaliated by trying to cancel the WTO summit scheduled to take place in the country.