Jacob Ostreicher, an American businessman imprisoned without formal charges for 20 months in Bolivia, then detained for nearly other year, is finally back in the United States, said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), a leading human rights advocate in Congress. “We are overjoyed that he is free,” Smith said. “It has been a long, painful road for Jacob and his family. He needs time to restore his health and rebuild his life, and he needs time with his family. A great injustice has been done to him ... Read more

IT'S RARE to see Congress agree on anything, so it was heartening to see a 398-0 vote Wednesday in the House of Representatives in support of a bill to help parents whose children were abducted by a spouse or other family member to live in another country. - There are existing laws that are supposed to help parents engaged in an international custody battle, such as the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. But the reality is that they aren't very effective. Rep... Read more

Written by Malia Rulon Herman, Gannett News Service -- The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass legislation from Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey that aims to crack down on countries that harbor children abducted by a parent. The bill was named for David Goldman of Tinton Falls, whose five-year fight to get his son back from Brazil drew international attention. Goldman’s son Sean was returned to him on Christmas Eve almost exactly four years ago. “Today, we have hope,” Goldman told reporte... Read more

FOX NEWS - The wife of an American pastor imprisoned for his faith in Iran said she was shocked to learn the U.S. government had been conducting secret negotiations with Iran even as State Department officials told her they could do little to free her husband because the nations have no diplomatic relations. Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband, Saeed Abedini, is serving an eight-year prison term in Iran after being arrested more than a year ago while visiting his homeland, told FoxNews.com she felt b... Read more

The plight of imprisoned Iranian-American Saeed Abedini was the topic of a congressional hearing Thursday chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues. “As we speak, Pastor Abedini remains imprisoned in Iran, sharing a cell with violent criminals who have more than once surrounded Pastor Abedini as he tried to sleep, wielding knives and threatening his life,” Smith said. “Saeed Abedini is an American citizen. He we... Read more

“Left-behind” parents came from across the country to watch as Members of the House of Representatives voted to unanimously pass a bill to help bring home American children abducted to overseas destinations, said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), the author of the legislation and chairman of the House congressional panel which oversees human rights. “The bill gives us continued hope that our elected officials grasp the enormity and the severity of this ongoing injustice and pail inflicted upon th... Read more

Human rights abuses against Coptic Christians, moderate Muslims and other religious minorities, and the threats to stability and peace in Egypt were among the topics of a congressional hearing held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, the anniversary of the founding of International Human Rights Day. “It is fitting that we are holding this hearing today, on International Human Rights Day, beca... Read more

The threats to stability and peace in Egypt will be the topic of a congressional hearing Tuesday chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues. “Human Rights Abuses in Egypt,” is the title of a joint hearing to be held before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations and the Subcommittee Middle East and North Africa. Witnesses will focus on role of moderate Muslim... Read more

The United Nations Security Council yesterday passed a watered down resolution transitioning responsibility of the African-led International Support Mission in the Central Africa Republic (MISCA), to the African Union (AU) while postponing preparations for a United Nations-led Peacekeeping Mission by at least three months, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), who chaired a recent congressional hearing on the crisis in the Central Africa Republic (CAR). “In effect, the Council has deferred taking ... Read more

Amid powerful and often emotional testimony, five young women appealed to Vice President Joe Biden, who is now in China, to bring their unjustly-imprisoned fathers’ plights to the attention of the Chinese government, and seek their release. They spoke passionately at a hearing held by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and chair of its subcommittee on global human rights. “I join with my fellow sisters here today to request Vice President Biden to... Read more