Former wrongful detainees are speaking about their trauma behind bars and what support they needed upon release as the Australian government admits to shortcomings.
Canadian Michael Korvig was detained for more than 1000 days in China as Beijing pushed his government to release Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou who had been arrested in Canada.
Mr Kovrig said he was also put in solitary confinement for more than five months and subjected to measures that "constituted psychological torture" as he gave evidence to a parliamentary inquiry reviewing how Australia can better manage such cases.
"There is an intention to punish, inflict pain and suffering on individuals so that a government feels some kind of suffering and gets the message they've done something wrong," he said on Monday.
China used "human beings as bargaining chips to coerce" other countries from taking what it viewed as adverse actions, Mr Kovrig said.
The former detainee recommended a specific diplomatic role within the federal government to handle wrongful detentions.
Justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators were the next steps, he said, suggesting increased penalties for captors to deter wrongful detentions including sanctions, financial penalties, legal actions and travel bans.
American families were offered medical care and psychological support during their loved one's imprisonment, US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs Roger Carstens said.
Letters were also written to creditors or the tax office to offset financial stress, he said.
His evidence contrasted the experiences of former wrongfully detained Australian detainees, with Kylie Moore-Gilbert - who was imprisoned in Iran on trumped-up espionage charges - previously telling the inquiry about a lack of support.
Dr Moore-Gilbert said she had received no medical or psychological help upon her return.
Other former prisoners only had access to four psychologist sessions and their families had received little assistance, the inquiry heard.
Foreign Affairs Department consular management official Paula Ganley admitted shortcomings, including appropriately referring returned Australians to domestic support services.
"We obviously have not been as clear as we should have been," she said.
Specialised support outside of the department's remit was often required for complex cases so referrals were made to groups like Hostage International, she said.
Australia wasn't targeted by hostage diplomacy where countries would look to leverage prisoners to force a concession from the federal government, she said.
Having a citizen wrongfully detained had not tempered public rebukes against certain countries or stopped sanctions laid against individuals, she added.
