WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 6, 2025) — In a newsletter launched today by The Washington Post Director of Press Freedom Initiatives Jason Rezaian, the McCain Institute’s John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative (FPPI) is highlighted along with Rezaian’s conversation with fellow former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza. Rezaian and Kara-Murza will both serve on the McCain Institute’s FPPI advisory council.
Read Rezaian’s inaugural Press Freedom newsletter HERE or below.
Shared experiences, political prisoners, and freedom
By: Jason Rezaian
February 6, 2025
https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/api/v1/newsletters/be4bfc3f-92ad-44c3-88ad-492e46d1638d/render/?itid=sf_public-relations_press-freedom-partnership_newsletter_p003
Greetings from New York City where I just had an extraordinary conversation at an event hosted by the McCain Institute.
As a Washington Post journalist, I’ve interviewed individuals from all walks of life: heads of state, diplomats, artists, athletes, innovators and ordinary people.
But the one I did this week stands out as remarkable.
I spent an hour in conversation with my colleague and fellow former prisoner, Vladimir Kara- Murza. Although we wrote for the same section for years, Kara-Murza – who was freed in a historic prisoner exchange with Russia last August – and I had never met before.
Like Senator John McCain, who spent five and half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Vladimir and I both endured prolonged solitary confinement. Despite similarities in our ordeals, our stories are very different, and yet I felt the same instant bond I share with other former hostages and political prisoners.
We discussed the critical roles our incredible wives played in securing our freedom, how important it is to prisoners that their names not be forgotten, and how books hit differently when read behind bars.
I sometimes tell people that if you haven’t spent significant time in prison you have missed one of the essential human experiences. It’s almost as though you can’t really know the value of freedom unless you’ve had it and then had it taken from you.
That shared understanding is what connects us and so many others around the world who know that freedom for ourselves, and for others, is worth the struggle to achieve it and maintain it. McCain put it best in his memoir Faith of My Fathers, when he wrote, “Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you, but is not defined by your existence alone.”
As valuable a learning opportunity prison is, though, I can’t recommend it. Which is why I’m joining Vladimir – along with former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and Magnitsky sanctions architect, Bill Browder – on the advisory board of the just launched John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative (FPPI), which will provide vital support to Americans, green card holders, and dissidents from other nations, who are held overseas as political prisoners or hostages by repressive regimes.
Our intimate discussion spoke to existential challenges facing democracy as we know it that wrapped with Vladimir putting a fine point on it when he evoked the words of Ronald Reagan: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” America was built on the enduring belief that freedom is a fundamental right for all, and that by remaining united around that ideal, we can protect and uphold the values that make us stronger together. This bipartisan spirit was a hallmark of McCain’s legacy, but it will also be essential for our democracy to endure and hopefully thrive again.
Watch the full conversation between Jason and Vladimir here.
About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.