Freedom is his business: How Jared Genser extracts political prisoners
| Bethesda, Md.
Human rights attorney Jared Genser didn鈥檛 properly exhale until his South Sudanese client Peter Biar Ajak, his wife, two young sons, and newborn daughter touched down in Washington and walked through the customs security gate at Dulles International Airport that July 2020 evening.听
After nearly two years in a South Sudan prison and six months in a Nairobi safe house, the peace activist鈥檚 attempt to escape to the United States with his family took a terrifying turn: South Sudanese death squads were allegedly on their trail. They changed their flight for immediate听departure,听but that presented a harrowing technicality: They had no U.S. visas and no COVID-19 tests.
More than 7,500 miles away, on his laptop and mobile phone for six excruciating hours, Mr. Genser worked his energetic brand of triangulation 鈥撎齬eassuring听his jittery client while diplomatically shaking every tree at the Departments of Homeland Security and State to get emergency visas and testing waivers.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onBehind Iran鈥檚 release of its longest-held American prisoner Saturday is an attorney who strategizes relentlessly 鈥� and successfully 鈥� to get beyond 鈥淭he Price Is Right鈥� swaps to free prisoners in the darkest corners of the globe.
鈥淗e was relentless,鈥� Dr. Ajak gratefully recalls of Mr. Genser鈥檚 constant, optimistic phone updates. Mr. Genser calmly and repeatedly assured him that he and his family would make it to the airport.听听
And Mr. Genser was right.
As dramatic as it sounds, it was business as usual for the human rights lawyer who specializes in 鈥渆xtracting鈥� people from unjust imprisonment in far corners of the world, from China and听Venezuela to Iran and Myanmar (also known as Burma). His uncompromising goal is securing freedom听for anyone held for their political or religious beliefs; his basic tools are the flashlight of听hope听and the know-how to influence the powerful, penning op-eds, dogging government officials, calling on human rights organizations around the world, and filing mounds of paperwork.听
He says his efforts have helped free 350 prisoners in the past decade. And, during the weekend, two more of his clients 鈥� Iranian American businessman Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer, were closer to freedom; the younger 鈥� the longest-held American prisoner in Iranian custody 鈥� was given a temporary furlough from prison, and the elder was given freedom to travel.
鈥淛ared Genser ranks amongst the best in securing releases of political prisoners whose arbitrary and prolonged detentions are increasing amidst a culture of impunity,鈥� says Irwin Cotler, former minister of justice and attorney general of Canada and founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights.
Some of Mr. Genser鈥檚 most hair-raising jobs grabbed the attention of actor Orlando Bloom, who is developing a TV series on the attorney鈥檚 work. Think 鈥淲est Wing鈥� with a dash of 鈥淪candal鈥� where, in one scene, the sharply dressed lead character corners a senator in a marbled hallway, while in another his outspoken dissident client endures brutal prison conditions.听
Founder of Perseus Strategies, an international human rights law firm, Mr. Genser says his calling comes from an听ingrained sense of听obligation听toward humanity and the idea that freedom should never be taken for granted.听
His sense of duty to听others comes from how he has experienced vulnerability, first through Jewish grandparents who survived antisemitic pogroms in Eastern Europe before immigrating to the U.S. in the late 1800s, as well as the defining moment at age 10 when he fell into a coma with a life-threatening illness.
鈥淚 remember some of the ride to the hospital and not feeling afraid,鈥� he says, adding that the experience inspired him to help others feel calm in vulnerable situations.听
No more 鈥淧rice Is Right鈥�
Mr. Genser, one of a few human rights attorneys in the field, doesn鈥檛 like what has, in his view, become a high-stakes game of 鈥淭he Price Is Right,鈥澨齩r 鈥渋ncentivized hostage-taking.鈥�
He traces this practice to 1979 when Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days until the U.S. released nearly $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets.听In a far more recent example, seven Americans were released from a Venezuelan prison Oct. 1 in exchange for two relatives of Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro. The latter had been serving 18-year sentences in the U.S. on drug charges.
Mr. Genser estimates听that between 65 and 85 Americans and countless more foreign nationals are being wrongly held worldwide, including professional basketball star Brittney Griner, who is serving a nine-year sentence for a drug conviction in Russia.听As such he鈥檚 become a powerful voice for a new way of getting people back. 鈥淢ost authoritarian countries and dictators are rational actors. They know we have struck deals over and over again,鈥� reasons Mr. Genser. 鈥淎nd so it鈥檚 time to introduce draconian deterrents.鈥�听
He envisions a new multilateral approach 鈥� modeled after NATO鈥檚 Article 5. In short, a hostage taken from one signatory would be considered a hostage taken from all. Responses would include听public condemnations and targeted sanctions on individuals and entities that conduct and support hostage-taking, as well as the blocking of economic development and security assistance.
鈥淚t won鈥檛 stop the practice of hostage-taking, but it can elevate the cost and make deals happen more quickly,鈥� says Mr. Genser, who is strategizing with hostage affairs experts at the U.S. State Department to implement this approach.听
Putting principle into practice听听
Mr. Genser first turned his principle into practice while attending Harvard University鈥檚 John F. Kennedy School of Government. It was November 1997 and Chinese President Jiang Zemin was coming to speak.听
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 upset the university was inviting him,鈥� Mr. Genser says. 鈥淲e were angry Harvard was rolling out the red carpet for him and that he was going to be allowed to stay in his authoritarian bubble.鈥澨�
He and four Chinese dissidents organized a protest that drew 5,000 students outside the lecture hall 鈥� the largest protest at Harvard since the Vietnam War.
鈥淚t was so loud outside. The moderator asked Mr. Jiang what he thought about the protest, and the Chinese leader said, 鈥楽peak louder, I can鈥檛 hear you,鈥欌�� Mr. Genser recalls.听听
He took on his first case before graduating from the University of Michigan Law School. While spending a semester in London in 2000, he learned about James Mawdsley, a British Australian citizen who鈥檇 witnessed Myanmar government forces burn down a school in a refugee camp. Mr. Mawdsley was facing a potential 17-year prison sentence for publicizing it.
Mr. Genser filed the case with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva. Returning stateside that summer, he spent countless hours talking to legislative aides, ultimately persuading 23 members of Congress to sign a bipartisan letter pressing Myanmar to free Mr. Mawdsley. The State Department forwarded the letter to the Myanmar Consulate.
Later that fall back in his Ann Arbor dorm, Mr. Genser鈥檚 phone rang: Mr. Mawdsley鈥檚 release was imminent. And Mr. Genser flew to London and waited at Heathrow Airport.听听
鈥淛ames walked in after 415 days in solitary confinement. His mother introduced us and then he shook my hand and said, 鈥楾hanks, you saved my life.鈥欌�� Mr. Genser recounts. 鈥淚 was speechless. This was why I went to law school.鈥�
Buzzing from the success, he says, 鈥淚 realized I could get a white man out of a Burmese prison, but could I get a Chinese man out of a Chinese prison, a Sudanese man out of a Sudanese prison?鈥澨�
Juggling classes and cases
In his first job after law school, at the multinational law firm DLA Piper, Mr. Genser learned that the Chinese government had imprisoned his former Harvard classmate and fellow protest organizer Yang Jianli.
The son of a Communist Party leader, Dr. Yang left China in 1989, disillusioned with the party. He earned the Chinese government鈥檚 ire by leading protests while attending the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard. In 2002 鈥� with his wife鈥檚 understanding 鈥� he defiantly returned to China to support the nonviolent labor movement. Arrested and sentenced to prison, he thought he鈥檇 be forgotten.
鈥淛ared and I had very few interactions after graduation,鈥� Dr. Yang says. 鈥淭he next time I heard his name was when my Chinese counsel visited me in prison. At the time I had been in solitary for 15 months.听
鈥淢y first reaction was, 鈥楾hat young man?鈥� I later learned Jared had approached my wife and offered to act as my legal counsel pro bono.鈥澨�听
Mr. Genser spearheaded the effort that led to his friend鈥檚 2007 release. He filed the case with the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and got U.S. senators from both parties and Harvard faculty to sign petitions. He also pressed the issue with the State Department. 鈥淣ow I help others languishing in prison under the yoke of dictatorships around the world,鈥� says Dr. Yang, the president and founder of Citizen Power Initiatives for China.
While Mr. Genser represents a foreign government that he wouldn鈥檛 name facing human rights challenges and serves as outside general counsel to several nonprofit organizations, more than half of his clients are pro bono. He鈥檚 working for Nicaraguan presidential candidates Juan Sebasti谩n Chamorro听and听F茅lix Maradiaga, who have been imprisoned since before the 2021 elections.
Mr. Genser also serves as pro bono counsel for the Namazis. The younger Mr. Namazi, the Iranian American businessman, was arrested in Iran in 2015 for 鈥渃ollusion with an enemy state.鈥� He was left behind during a 2016 prisoner exchange, despite Iranian government promises that release was imminent, Mr. Genser says. Iranian authorities then arrested and imprisoned the father when he visited in February that year. The father, whose travel ban was dropped this weekend, cannot travel because he鈥檚 ill.
When Roger Carstens, U.S. special presidential envoy on hostage affairs, first met Mr. Genser three years ago, he says he was impressed with his clarity of vision and tenacity. He suggested the attorney put his plan on paper. While he doesn鈥檛 recall听specifics, Mr. Carstens does recall waking up to 鈥渁 beautifully worded, concise document outlining the plan. He must have stayed up all night.鈥� 听
While incredible听patience seems important to do his work, it鈥檚 actually relentlessness that鈥檚 required.
鈥淚鈥檝e done the work long enough to know that in stressful situations it鈥檚 important to take a deep breath, slow down, and try and keep my pulse at around 60,鈥� Mr. Genser says, taking a sip from听a can of Coca-Cola.听
鈥淭he squeaky wheel gets the grease. I鈥檒l call a congressional office five, 10 times or more, but you can鈥檛 be relentless to the point of self-destruction. I can鈥檛 go ballistic. It鈥檚 all about careful calibration,鈥� he adds.
To release stress he plays听ice hockey 鈥� he keeps a stick wedged between the passenger seat and console of his Lexus.
One of his ongoing cases involves his friend Theary Seng, a Cambodian American lawyer, activist, and critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen. She鈥檚 serving six years for conspiracy to commit treason.听After attending one of her hearings in June, he held a press conference on the steps of Phnom Penh Municipal Court and was promptly barred from Cambodia. It wasn鈥檛 the first time he was bounced: In 2016, the Maldives deported him upon arrival there in an effort to secure release of former President Mohamed Nasheed. Venezuela also banned him. Throughout听his career he鈥檚 had moments of utter despondency, such as when his client Chinese writer and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was denied medical treatment for an illness while in prison until it was too late.听
鈥淭he day Xiaobo died was the worst and most painful of my career,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 know I can鈥檛 save all of my clients, and I鈥檝e come to learn that every case is a profound failure until I succeed.鈥�
