The John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative: Advisory Council
Board Chair

Vladimir Kara-Murza
Vice President of Free Russia Foundation
Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian politician, author, historian, and former political prisoner. A close colleague of the slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, he has served as deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party and was a candidate for the Russian Parliament. Leading diplomatic efforts on behalf of the opposition, Kara-Murza played a key role in the adoption of Magnitsky sanctions against top Russian officials by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, and Australia. For this work he was twice poisoned and left in a coma; a joint media investigation by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel has identified FSB officers behind the attacks. In April 2022 Kara-Murza was arrested in Moscow for publicly denouncing the invasion of Ukraine and the war crimes committed by Russian forces. Following a closed-door trial at the Moscow City Court, he was sentenced to 25 years for “high treason” and kept in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison in Siberia. He was released in August 2024 as part of the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War negotiated by the U.S. and German governments. Kara-Murza is a contributing writer at the Washington Post, winning the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for his columns written from prison, and has previously worked for Echo of Moscow, BBC, RTVi, Kommersant, World Affairs, and other media organisations. He has directed three documentary films and is the author or contributor to several books on Russian history and politics. Kara-Murza currently serves as vice-president at the Free Russia Foundation, as senior advisor at Human Rights First, and as senior fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He was the founding chairman of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom and has led successful international efforts to commemorate Nemtsov, including with street designations in Washington D.C. and London. Kara-Murza is a recipient of several awards, including the Council of Europe’s Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, and is an honorary fellow at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He holds an M.A. (Cantab.) in History from Cambridge. He is married, with three children.
Board Members

Sir William Browder
Head, Global Magnitsky Justice Coalition
William Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country and declared “a threat to national security” for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies. In 2008, Mr. Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered a massive fraud committed by Russian government officials that involved the theft of US $230 million of state taxes. Sergei testified against state officials involved in this fraud and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned without trial and systematically tortured. He spent a year in prison under horrific detention conditions, was repeatedly denied medical treatment, and died in prison on November 16, 2009, leaving behind a wife and two children. Since then, Mr. Browder has sought justice outside of Russia and started a global campaign for governments around the world to impose targeted visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers and highly corrupt officials. The United States was the first to impose these targeted sanctions with the passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Accountability Act in 2012, followed by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2016. Since then, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Baltic states, the European Union and most recently Australia have passed their own versions of the Magnitsky Act. Mr. Browder is currently working to have similar legislation passed in other countries worldwide including New Zealand and Japan, to name a few.

Christan Caryl
Journalist and Former Washington Post Editor
Christian Caryl is an independent foreign policy commentator and the author of Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century. From 2017 to the end of 2023 he worked as an editor in the Opinions Section of the Washington Post. Before that he worked for five years as an editor and columnist at Foreign Policy magazine, From 2000 to 2009 he served as a foreign correspondent for Newsweek (heading bureaus in Moscow and Tokyo); after 9/11 he reported from Iraq and Afghanistan as part of Newsweek’s coverage of the war on terror. During his career he has reported from more than 60 countries.
Earlier Caryl served as Moscow bureau chief for U.S News & World Report starting in July 1997. Before moving to Moscow, Caryl spent 13 years as a freelance journalist in Germany, where he contributed to publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Spectator, and Der Spiegel. He was a winner of the 2011 Overseas Press Club award for Best Online Commentary.

Ambassador Roger Carstens
Former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs
Roger D. Carstens was the third Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) at the U.S. Department of State from 2020 to 2025. Him and his office, over two Administrations, brought over 65 American wrongful detainees and political prisoners home, including managing one of the largest prisoner swaps in history that brought home three Americans and Vladimir Kara-Murza, plus twelve others. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Carstens was a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. He previously served in Amman, Jordan, as the Country Director for a U.S.-based international nongovernmental organization (INGO) that provided humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. Prior positions include Senior Civilian Advisor on the Commander’s Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) in Afghanistan; Project Director for an INGO based in Somalia; Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security; and Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Carstens is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in Special Forces and the 1st Ranger Battalion. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and St. John’s College. Mr. Carstens is the recipient of the 2023 Robert A. Levinson Excellence in Government Service Award and was selected as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment.

Liz Cathcart
Executive Director, Hostage U.S.
Liz Cathcart is the Executive Director of Hostage US. She has played a pivotal role at Hostage US since the organization’s inception, helping to launch the nonprofit alongside the founding executive director. Previously serving as Director of Programs and Operations, Liz oversaw the nonprofit’s day-to-day activities and was instrumental in developing the Support Program, expanding strategic partnerships, and broadening services. Liz has led the organization as the Executive Director since 2020, driving the strategic vision of Hostage US. Under her leadership, the organization continues to provide vital support to hostages, wrongful detainees, and their families, ensuring they have access to the resources, guidance, and care they need. Liz is a published writer and leading expert on hostage support and affairs. She has provided insight and commentary for major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and NBC. Liz was recognized as one of Security Magazine’s 2023 Most Influential People in Security, an award acknowledging her work in hostage affairs as it relates to security. Liz is also a Member of the Atlantic Council Counterterrorism Project.

Ryan Fayhee
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP
Ryan Fayhee leads the Sanctions, Export Controls & Anti-Money Laundering practice group at Hughes Hubbard and is a former senior prosecutor and national security official with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Ryan’s practice focuses on government and congressional investigations, crisis management, cross-border compliance, corporate governance, and white-collar criminal defense. Ryan draws upon a multi-disciplinary skillset to assist corporations, boards of directors, audit committees, and senior executives facing high-profile reputational risks and incident response, often involving U.S. and foreign regulators and enforcement authorities, political stakeholders, and the media. He also advises clients on strategic opportunities, governance and compliance best practices, acquisition due diligence, and national security reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). An experienced trial lawyer, Ryan has successfully tried several cases to verdict, with the unique ability to handle deeply regulatory matters and seamlessly transition to high profile enforcement actions involving the DOJ as well as regulators at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). Ryan has been named to Global Investigations Review’s elite list of the most respected sanctions lawyers in Washington, D.C. The Legal 500 has recognized Ryan for “excel[ing] at leading and conducting investigatory work as a result of the ‘wealth of experience and insights’ he gained in his former position as a DOJ national security prosecutor.” Ryan’s clients come from varied industries, including financial services, private equity, technology, aerospace and defense, telecommunications, energy, mining, construction materials, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods. Ryan maintains an active pro bono practice and has extensive experience representing current and former hostages of foreign governments and transnational criminal organizations, as well as the unlawfully detained, with a focus on advocating for families, securing release, and ensuring long term reintegration.

Evgenia Kara-Murza
President, The 30 October Foundation
Evgenia Kara-Murza is a Russian human rights advocate, democracy campaigner, and public speaker. She has graduated with honors from the Moscow State Linguistic University and has worked as a translator and interpreter for several nongovernmental organizations, including the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, PEN America, the Institute of Modern Russia, and the Free Russia Foundation. After her husband, prominent Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, was imprisoned for denouncing the war in Ukraine, Evgenia led a global advocacy campaign for his liberation and for the liberation of other Russian political prisoners. Vladimir was released in August 2024 along with 15 other political prisoners and hostages as part of the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War. As advocacy director at the Free Russia Foundation, Evgenia Kara-Murza is part of a global campaign of solidarity with Russian anti-war and pro-democracy activists both inside and outside the country and continues her public advocacy on behalf of political prisoners. She serves as President of the 30 October Foundation, a nonprofit organization she and her husband established to provide financial support to families of political prisoners in Russia. Evgenia is a recipient of several international awards, including the Democracy Service Medal from the National Endowment for Democracy, the Lantos Human Rights Prize, and the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award from the International Republican Institute. Evgenia and Vladimir Kara-Murza have three children.

Sarah (Levinson) Moriarty
New America Future Security Program Fellow
Sarah Moriarty, née Levinson, is a fellow with New America’s Future Security Program and one of the seven children of Robert “Bob” Levinson, the longest held hostage in American history. Since Bob was taken in Iran in March 2007, Sarah has been a relentless advocate for her father, and for all American hostages, building relationships across government and private industry, with other hostages and their families, and with the United Nations Human Rights Council. Sarah and her family’s tireless efforts ultimately resulted in credible information pointing to her father’s unnecessary and unjust death in Iranian captivity.
The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Taking Accountability Act, passed in 2020 and named after Bob, is thanks in large part due to Sarah and her family’s advocacy. Sarah has a deep desire to bring those Americans wrongfully held abroad home, to provide support to their families in navigating the vast challenges that face hostage families, and to help shape hostage policy focused on awareness, recovery, support, deterrence and justice.
Sarah has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation and currently serves on their Advisory Council, as well as the Advisory Council of Hostage US. In addition to her hostage advocacy, Sarah is a change management professional and action-oriented problem solver, with a 20 year plus record of success spanning multiple industries. Sarah graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Public Relations from the University of Central Florida and has her M.B.A. from the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College. She lives in a small town in New Jersey with her husband and two young sons.

Siamak Namazi
Former Iranian Hostage
Siamak Namazi endured a challenging 2,898 days of captivity in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison before his release in September 2023, earning him the highly uncoveted distinction of being the longest-held American hostage in Iran. Before his ca ptivity, Siamak held executive roles advising multinational firms on market entry, risk mitigation, and public affairs across the U.S., Middle East, and Africa. He has led strategic planning for an Emirati energy company, headed two consulting firms, and co-founded an NGO focused on entrepreneurship training. He has also held fellowships at the Wilson Center, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Additionally, Siamak has contributed chapters on energy and geopolitics in six books and is a frequent media commentator. Today, Siamak is dedicated to advocating for the release of hostages and for the need to put in place policies that deter hostage diplomacy. He also speaks on resilience, leadership, and the management lessons drawn from his years in captivity. Siamak holds an MBA from the London Business School, an MS in Urban Planning & Policy Development from Rutgers University, and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University.

Jason Rezaian
Director of Press Freedom Initiatives, The Washington Post and Former Iranian Prisoner
Jason Rezaian is the Director of Press Freedom Initiatives at The Washington Post, where he works to promote global press freedom and advocate for the rights of journalists. From 2012 to 2016, he served as The Post’s Tehran Bureau Chief and was wrongfully detained by Iranian authorities for 544 days. He chronicled his harrowing experience in his memoir, “Prisoner”, and the podcast series “544 Days”. Rezaian’s career spans a diverse range of roles in journalism, including as a Global Opinion columnist at The Washington Post from 2018 to 2024. He serves as the co-Executive Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention, and as Chair of the Advisory Board for the National Press Club’s Press Freedom Center. A recognized leader in media and human rights, Rezaian was a 2017 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and a 2023 Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. In 2023, he received the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Medal in Citizen Leadership for his dedication to press freedom and the protection of journalists worldwide.