# Navalny, Gershkovich, Namazi: inside the battle to free political prisoners

An episode of [Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1807787260), 19 Aug 2025, 42 min.

Audio: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/897d5462-4963-40c3-be6c-08dcf8b241e7.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=fbbc0fd6-7f5d-4503-91ab-00eef2763889&aw_0_1st.episodeid=897d5462-4963-40c3-be6c-08dcf8b241e7

Few challenges in international diplomacy are as fraught - or as urgent - as negotiating the freedom of hostages and political prisoners. In this episode, Christiane and Jamie take us inside two high-profile deals they were personally involved in: the release of Siamak Namazi from the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, and of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Moscow. They reveal the roles they played in bringing these men home, and the keys to negotiating with dictators and authoritarian regimes. Jamie also explains how the US came agonisingly close to securing the release of Alexei Navalny before his death in a Siberian prison camp. Plus Christiane looks back on her own harrowing experiences as a foreign correspondent - recounting the times she herself was held hostage, including by the Taliban in Afghanistan and by war criminals in the Balkans - and what those ordeals taught her about survival and resilience. Contact us at: amanpourpod@global.com For more content, please follow us: Watch us: https://www.youtube.com/@AmanpourPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanpourpod X: https://x.com/AmanpourPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Christiane-Amanpour-Presents BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amanpourpod.bsky.social

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