Amazon CEO explains silence as AWS employee is freed after 498 days in Hamas captivity
Jassy says Amazon worked quietly behind the scenes to support Troufanov’s release.
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, who recently visited Israel, issued a letter to the company's employees on Saturday following the release of AWS (Amazon Web Services) employee Sasha Troufanov from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
“I’m incredibly relieved to share the news that our AWS teammate, Sasha Troufanov, who had been held hostage since the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, has been released from captivity,” Jassy wrote.
At the same time, Jassy addressed criticism that Amazon had remained silent about Troufanov and his family’s abduction. He explained that the company refrained from making public statements out of concern that doing so could jeopardize efforts to secure his release.
Troufanov was freed on Saturday morning after 498 days in captivity, along with hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen and Iair Horn. He was kidnapped along with his mother, grandmother, and girlfriend during the attacks, while his father was killed. His mother, grandmother, and girlfriend were released in November 2023.
“Since we learned of Sasha and his family’s abduction, we’ve had a dedicated team working behind the scenes with experts to support efforts to secure their release and to ensure that we did the right thing for them and their safety (including painfully not commenting publicly for fear that we would negatively impact their ability to be released or how they were treated in captivity),” Jassy wrote.
He added: “It’s been an extremely trying time for everybody who knows and cares for Sasha — a lot of angst and feelings of helplessness. But, it can’t approach what Sasha and his family have been through, and we will continue to support them and do everything we can to help them heal.
“Thank you to all who tirelessly advocated for his safe return – I share your gratitude and relief that Sasha and other hostages were released today. My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by the war and I continue to hope that we get on a long-term peaceful path.”
