After remaining silent since October 7, 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has welcomed the release of hostage Sasha Troufanov, an electrical engineer at Amazon unit Annapurna Labs.
Jassy wrote in an email to employees, 'I'm incredibly relieved to share the news that our AWS teammate Sasha Troufanov, who has been held hostage since the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, has been released from captivity. Troufanov was held in captivity with his mother, grandmother and girlfriend, during which time 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 continued, '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. 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."
Since Troufanov was taken hostage, Amazon has conducted a policy of complete silence on the matter of its Tel Aviv employee, except for some internal events arranged by the company's management. Neta Yessod-Alon, a good friend of Troufanov, has told "Globes" in the past that Amazon had been advised consultants on hostage negotiations not to make Troufanov a symbol.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 16, 2025.
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