Program Marks One Year of Bringing Political Prisoners Home
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17, 2026) – The McCain Institute of Arizona State University’s (ASU) John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative (FPPI) is honored to announce the addition of four members to its advisory board. The new members are:
- The Honorable Irwin Cotler, Founder and International Chair, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
- Félix Maradiaga, President, World Liberty Congress and Professor, University of Virginia
- Hector Schamis, Adjunct Professor and Democracy Scholar, Georgetown University
- Mark V. Vlasic, Founder & Chair of the International Practice, Madison Law & Strategy Group
These individuals join a coalition of 12 advisors that have contributed to the freedom of three of the FPPI’s four inaugural cases and supported the release of more than 30 political prisoners in Venezuela.
“We are proud of the work we’ve done in the first year of our program to bring people home and and strengthen our growing coalition committed to freedom,” said FPPI Director Pedro Pizano. “We are honored to welcome Irwin, Félix, Mark, and Hector with their unmatched expertise, lived experience, and moral clarity. We are building something that is not only effective, but enduring, and we move forward with urgency and purpose.”
“I am honored to join the Advisory Board of the John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative. At a time when authoritarian regimes continue to weaponize detention, initiatives like the FPPI are essential, not only to advocate for individual prisoners, but to reaffirm the principle that justice and freedom must remain at the center of international action,” said Cotler.
“I know firsthand what it means to be a political prisoner and the fear of being forgotten,” said Maradiaga. “FPPI is changing that reality by ensuring that the names, stories, and rights of those unjustly detained are never ignored. I am proud to join this effort and to stand with those still waiting for freedom.”
“The strategic use of legal, diplomatic, and economic tools is critical to securing the release of hostages, political prisoners, and unlawful detainees, while holding perpetrators accountable,” said Vlasic. “The McCain Institute’s FPPI team brings together the right coalition of expertise and leadership to do exactly that, and I am honored to contribute to this important work.”
“Autocracies depend on silence and fragmentation. FPPI’s work brings visibility, mobilizes pressure, and highlights cases that would otherwise be overlooked” said Schamis. “I am honored to support this mission, inspired by the McCain legacy.”
FPPI was launched in February 2025 to provide vital support to Americans and green card holders who are held overseas as political prisoners or hostages, as well as dissidents, political prisoners, and hostages from other nations who are held around the world by repressive regimes. Recent advocacy efforts have included partnering with the U.S. Department of State to commemorate U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, co-hosting the U.S.-U.K. Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention at the U.S. Capitol featuring U.S. Special Presidential Envoy John Coale, advocating to secure the release of political prisoners in China at the Hudson Institute, and more.
For more information on FPPI, click HERE.