Taliban frees American academic Dennis Coyle after more than a year in detention (Picture credit: AP)
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Tuesday released American academic Dennis Coyle, who had been held for more than a year, in a move welcomed by Washington but accompanied by renewed US demands for the return of other Americans still believed to be in the country.Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said Coyle was released in Kabul on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, after an appeal from his family and after the Supreme Court considered his previous imprisonment sufficient. The ministry said the release was made on grounds of “humanitarian sympathy and goodwill”.
Release linked to Eid appeal and judicial review
The Taliban said Coyle, an academic researcher, had been detained since January 2025 and was freed after going through the judicial process.According to news agency AP, Afghan authorities had accused him of violating laws but never publicly specified which laws he had allegedly broken.The foreign ministry said Coyle had been released following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s Supreme Court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient”.The ministry also said Afghanistan believed such steps could “further strengthen the atmosphere of trust between countries” and expressed hope that Kabul and Washington would resolve remaining issues through “understanding and constructive dialogue”.
Taliban leader personally ordered release
According to The New York Times, Afghanistan’s leader Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada personally ordered Coyle’s release after his family wrote to him seeking a pardon for Eid al-Fitr.Coyle, 64, is from Colorado and had worked in Afghanistan for more than 20 years researching languages.Coyle family’s website said he had not been charged with a crime and was being held in “near-solitary conditions”. US State Department designated him as wrongfully detained in June.
Rubio welcomes release but says more Americans remain detained
US secretary of state Marco Rubio welcomed the release but made clear Washington still expects the Taliban to return other Americans.In a post on X, Rubio wrote, “Earlier this month, I met Molly, Amy, and Patti as they asked for help freeing their brother Dennis Coyle from detention in Afghanistan. Today, Dennis is on his way home. We thank the UAE and Qatar for their support. The release is a positive step towards ending the practice of hostage diplomacy.”In separate comments, Rubio said, “President (Donald) Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas, Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office.”“While this is a positive step by the Taliban, more work needs to be done,” Rubio added, according to AP.Rubio also said, “We are still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans. The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy.”
Taliban rejects ‘hostage diplomacy’ charge
The release comes just weeks after the United States sharply escalated pressure on Kabul.Earlier this month, the US State Department designated Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing it of engaging in “hostage diplomacy”. Afghanistan was grouped alongside Iran as a country singled out for detaining Americans in hopes of extracting policy concessions.Afghanistan rejected that accusation.Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said his country “has not arrested citizens of any country to achieve political goals” and insisted Coyle was released only after going through the judicial process for “violating the laws”.Rubio had designated Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” this month, accusing the Taliban government of “kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions”.
UAE and Qatar helped broker the release
Both sides acknowledged regional mediation in securing Coyle’s freedom.Rubio and Muttaqi thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping mediate the release, and said Qatar had also played a role.The Taliban’s foreign ministry said Muttaqi met in Kabul with former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of the release.Khalilzad travelled to Kabul for the handover and described Coyle’s release as a “very positive development” and a “good decision” by the Afghan government.Coyle left Afghanistan on Tuesday afternoon aboard a jet bound for the UAE, with UAE officials facilitating the transfer.
Focus shifts to other missing or detained Americans
Washington says other Americans remain unaccounted for in Afghanistan.The State Department said earlier this month the Taliban was believed to be holding at least four US nationals, including Coyle and Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company.The FBI and Habibi’s family believe he was taken by Taliban forces in 2022, but Afghan authorities deny holding him.Habibi’s brother, Ahmad Habibi, welcomed Coyle’s release but said: “We hope that our family will soon have the same feeling of relief, when Mahmood is returned home to us.”Rubio mentioned Paul Overby, who is listed on the FBI’s missing persons website as having disappeared in Khost province in 2014 while researching a book.The New York Times identified him as Paul Edwin Overby Jr., a Massachusetts author last seen in southeastern Afghanistan.
Possible swap demand tied to Guantanamo detainee
A spokesperson for the Afghan government had said earlier this year Kabul was ready to release two US citizens, but wanted an Afghan detainee held at Guantanamo Bay freed in exchange.That detainee is Muhammad Rahim, who the US accuses of being an al-Qaida member and a courier and interpreter for Osama bin Laden, the paper said.Rahim’s lawyer, James G. Connell III, said on Tuesday: “Rahim is a 60-year-old man who has been imprisoned for 18 years without ever being charged with a crime. He is no threat to anyone, and should be released from Guantánamo.”One of Rahim’s sons, Muhammad Ibrahim Rahimi, attended Coyle’s release at Kabul airport and asked Khalilzad to deliver a letter to Donald Trump seeking his father’s release, reported The New York Times.Coyle’s release comes against the backdrop of deeply strained US-Taliban relations since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of US troops, nearly 20 years after they were first ousted in the US-led invasion following the 9/11 attacks.While Tuesday’s release may ease tensions slightly, Washington’s statements and the unresolved cases of other Americans suggest the issue of detentions will remain a central flashpoint in US-Afghanistan relations.
