Dear Senator Dodd:

Thank you for your letter of May 6, 1962 asking whether the Department of State has a list of United States citizens imprisoned in Communist countries.

The Department does maintain such a list which, however is classified and is not available for distribution. I would be happy to arrange, however, for this list to be made available to you for your personal inspection.

As you can well imagine, this is a matter of considerable sensitivity. The Department's press service from time to time makes available certain information which it may have concerning detained Americans abroad. Nevertheless, in many cases relatives of the detained American request that their names not be made public. The Department complies with such requests. Also, in some instances it is the Department's belief that publicity might be prejudicial to the individual's case.

Please let me know if you desire additional information on this matter.