ITALY: Amanda Knox was one of many Americans imprisoned abroad

Oct. 3, 2011 5:05 PM PT

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REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON -- Although U.S. media have given heavy coverage to the trial of Amanda Knox in the central Italian town of Perugia, the imprisonment of Americans abroad is not unusual.

State Department officials say there are up to 3,000 Americans in foreign jails at any time. They reported 3,627 arrests of American citizens last year.

The highest number of arrests is recorded in the countries that Americans visit most -- Mexico, Canada and European nations.

Knox, a 24-year-old Seattle native, was released from an Italian prison Monday after her murder conviction was overturned in the 2007 slaying of her British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

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-- Paul Richter

World Now

Paul Richter

Paul Richter covered the State Department and foreign policy for the Los Angeles Times out of its Washington, D.C., bureau. He previously covered the Pentagon, the White House and, from New York City, the financial industry. He was raised in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., and graduated from Clark University. He left The Times in 2015.

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