Kuwait frees 10 more Americans in the second release in as many months

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kuwait has released an additional 10 American detainees, bringing to nearly two dozen the total number freed by the country in the past two months, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The pardons of 23 Americans, done as a goodwill gesture by a U.S. ally, have yielded a quick succession of prisoner releases in the early months of a Trump administration that has sought to make hostage and detainee issues a foreign policy priority.

The prisoners, both men and women, include military contractors and veterans held for years on drug charges and other offenses by the small, oil-rich nation. One of them was said by supporters to have been coerced into signing a false confession and endured physical violence and threats against his wife and daughter.

Ten others were released in March, weeks after a visit to Kuwait by Adam Boehler, who is serving as the Trump administration’s envoy for hostage affairs. Other countries, including Venezuela, have released large numbers of Americans over a period of years, but it's unusual for so many U.S. citizens to be freed by a foreign nation in such a short period of time as Kuwait has done.

“We flew out, we sat down with the Kuwaitis, and they said, 'Listen, no one’s ever asked before at this level” for the release of the Americans, Boehler told the AP.

The releases were not done as part of a swap and the U.S. was not asked to give up anything in return.

“They’ve been extremely responsive, and their view is the United States is a huge ally. They know it’s a priority for (President Donald Trump) to bring Americans home,” Boehler said. “I credit it to the Kuwaiti understanding that we’ve stood up for them historically and they know that these things are important for the president.”

Kuwait is considered a major non-NATO ally of the U.S. The U.S. and Kuwait have had a close military partnership since America launched the 1991 Gulf War to expel Iraqi troops after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, with some 13,500 American troops stationed in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem Air Base.

But the country also has detained many American military contractors on drug charges, in some cases for years. Their families have alleged that their loved ones faced abuse while imprisoned in a country that bans alcohol and has strict laws regarding drugs. Others have criticized Kuwaiti police for bringing trumped-up charges and manufacturing evidence used against them — allegations never acknowledged by the autocratic nation ruled by a hereditary emir.

A spokesperson for the Kuwaiti embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Americans freed Wednesday “maintain their innocence, and it’s important to note none of these cases had an identified victim, and all of them were built on supposed confessions taken in Arabic without translation,” according to a statement from Jonathan Franks, a private consultant working on cases involving American hostages and detainees who represented nine of the 10 people released. He spent weeks in the country trying to negotiate the releases.

He credited the Trump administration for looking “for reasons to bring Americans home” even when they are not designated by the U.S. government as having been wrongfully detained. He said “these Americans, mostly veterans, lost years with their families.”

Among those freed Wednesday was Tony Holden, an HVAC technician and career defense contractor. He was working in support of Camp Arifjan at the time of his November 2022 arrest, when his family and supporters allege he was “set up by corrupt Kuwaiti police looking to earn bonuses.”

His supporters say his wife and daughter were physically threatened, that he was coerced into signing a written confession in Arabic and that his drug possession charge and sentence came in spite of him testing negative in a drug test and abstaining for religious reasons from drug and alcohol use.

“We are grateful to see Tony Holden released today," said Stacia George, chief engagement officer of Global Reach, a nonprofit organization that has advocated for Holden’s release. "Tony is an innocent man who was held unjustly for 902 days and this gives him the ability to come home to his family and restart his life."

Added U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “We celebrate his release and return to the United States.”

A minor is also being released in the coming days but is expected to remain in Kuwait, a U.S. official said.

In this image released by the U.S. State Dept., Adam Boehler, the Trump administration's top envoy for hostage affairs, left, greets military contractor Tony Holden, who was recently released from Kuwait, at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (U.S. State Dept. via AP)

FILE - U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler speaks during a ceremony to raise the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag at the State Department, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - The seal of the State Department is seen at the Washington Passport Agency, July 12, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — At least 11 people were killed Sunday in an attack on a Hannukah celebration at a popular Sydney beach and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to call it an act of antisemitic terrorism. Antisemitism has been on the rise in Australia, fueled in part by Israel's war in Gaza, even as local Jewish groups have decried the lack of support from authorities.

Worldwide, Australia and Italy experienced the biggest increase in antisemitic attacks in 2024, according to Uriya Shavit, who oversees an annual report about global antisemitism from Tel Aviv University.

The numbers in these two countries rose while worldwide there was a slight decline in antisemitic attacks. Australia recorded 1,713 antisemitic incidents.

Australia, a country of 28 million people, is home to about 117,000 Jews, according to official figures.

“This was really one of the safest communities for Jews in history, characterized by religious tolerance and coexistence, and now Australian Jews are seriously asking whether they have a future in the country,” said Shavit. He cited an increasing legitimization of expressions of hatred toward Jews in the public discourse and the government's lack of willingness to address the issue.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, with Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event where Sunday's shooting happened, was among the dead, according to Chabad, an international movement of Orthodox Judaism known for its public candle lightings in communities across the world.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, in a statement, called for government leaders to move beyond words.

“The time for talking is over. We need decisive leadership and action now to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism from Australia’s public life, for which the Jewish community has long been advocating. Government’s first duty is to keep its citizens safe,” the statement said.

Antisemitic episodes in Australia's two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne — home to 85% of the country's Jewish population — have drawn the highest profile because they’re severe, unusual and public.

In August, Albanese accused Iran of organizing two antisemitic attacks in Australia and said his country was cutting off diplomatic relations with Tehran in response. It was not immediately clear if Sunday's attack on the Hanukkah event had any connection to Iran.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organization concluded that Iran had directed arson attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food company in Sydney, in October 2024, and on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue two months later, Albanese said.

Sunday's shooting erupted during a ceremony marking the first night of the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, which began this year on Dec. 14. In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication,” and the holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C. Traditionally, Jews light a ritual candelabra, or menorah, each night, in honor of the tiny supply of ritually pure oil that they found in the temple that lasted for eight nights instead of just one.

Chabad has often held a public candle lighting on Bondi Beach for Hanukkah that drew hundreds of people in past years. During Hanukkah, Chabad leaders traditionally place menorahs on car rooftops and host giant menorahs in public settings.

Chabad, originally based in Brooklyn, New York, focuses on expanding Jewish observance through dispatching emissaries throughout the world, often in places with little or no Jewish presence. Chabad spokesperson Motti Seligson said there are Chabad synagogues and outreach programs in more than 100 countries and Chabad has been in Australia for decades.

Husband-and-wife emissaries, known as shluchim, work around the world, especially in areas with a sparse Jewish presence. They are easily recognizable by the traditional dress, including black suits and hats for men and modest dress with head coverings or wigs for women.

There have been several attacks against Chabad rabbis and synagogues around the world. In 2008, nine people were killed in an attack against a Chabad house in Mumbai, India, and one person was killed and three injured in a 2019 shooting at a Chabad synagogue outside of San Diego.

The movement’s global headquarters are in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the former office and synagogue of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known simply as “the Rebbe,” who led the movement from 1951 until his death in 1994. Schneerson is still a revered religious figure in the movement, and his grave in Queens receives about 400,000 visitors per year, according to Chabad. President Donald Trump visited Schneerson’s grave during his second campaign in 2024.

Police cordon off an area at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A small Christmas tree is at the center of an abandoned holiday picnic at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)