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               Obama to Soften Ransom Policy for Hostage Families

   by VOA News

   The U.S. government will no longer threaten to prosecute families who
   try to negotiate with the captors of Americans being held hostage
   overseas or pay ransom to win their release, media reports say.

   President Barack Obama is expected to soften a U.S. policy when he
   releases a broad review of U.S. hostage guidelines Wednesday at the
   White House alongside several hostage families.

   The six-month review was prompted by sharp criticism of the Obama
   administration by some victims' relatives, who said they had been
   threatened with prosecution if they tried to raise money to pay a
   ransom.

   U.S. officials said new administrative measures would improve
   coordination and communication with hostage families and help
   facilitate communications with kidnappers on behalf of families seeking
   the safe return of hostages.

   But White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday that the
   president would not change the prohibition against making concessions
   to hostage-takers.

   Several U.S. hostages have been killed in the past year in the Middle
   East, including some who were beheaded in videos released by Islamic
   State militants.

   Unlike some European allies, the United States insists it will not make
   concessions to hostage-takers and has a strict no-payments strategy,
   saying ransoms only encourage further kidnappings and put funds in the
   hands of the militants.

   But last year it exchanged five Taliban detainees held at the U.S.
   naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to secure the release of U.S. Army
   Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held five years by Taliban forces
   in Afghanistan.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-soften-ransom-policy-hostage-fa
   milies/2834930.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-soften-ransom-policy-hostage-families/2834930.html