Amazon CEO breaks silence as employee is released after 498 days in Hamas captivity
Andy Jassy said the company had a "dedicated team" working to secure Alexander Troufanov's release
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has finally broken his silence about employee Alexander Troufanov, who had been held hostage by Hamas after his release on Saturday.
Alexander ‘Sasha’ Troufanov, 29, was visiting his family at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, when he, his mother, grandmother and girlfriend were taken captive by Hamas on 7 October 2023. He was held hostage for 498 days.
On Saturday, Jassy shared a message with Amazon employees on the company’s website. He said he was “incredibly relieved” that Troufanov had been released from captivity,” and that the company had a dedicated team working with Troufanov’s family “behind the scenes” to secure his release. The executive explained that Amazon “painfully” could not comment on Troufanov’s abduction publicly “for fear that we would negatively impact their ability to be released or how they were treated in captivity.”
Amazon faced criticism after it was revealed last year that Troufanov worked for the company, as many noted that the company hadn’t said anything publicly.
In his message over the weekend, Jassy said “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.”
Troufanov was released on Saturday, along with Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn, 46, and Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36.
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