Taliban Frees American Academic Held More Than Year

An American whom the Taliban has detained in Afghanistan since January 2025 is on his way home after threats from the Trump administration.The Taliban held Dennis Coyle at Kabul on unspecified violations of the law. Mr. Coyle’s family referred to him as a hostage.Mr. Coyle lived and worked in Afghanistan for nearly two decades studying the country’s “rich linguistic diversity,” according to a website his family set up to publicize his detention.Mr. Coyle’s family had raised concerns about his well-being because of limits on communication with him and being held in near-solitary isolation. The State Department designated Mr. Coyle as wrongfully detained.The Afghan foreign ministry said it granted a pardon request by the family on the holiday of Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.The Trump administration has been pressuring the Afghan government to release Americans it considers being held without justification.“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,” the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said in an X post. “We thank the UAE and Qatar for their support. The release is a positive step towards ending the practice of hostage diplomacy.”The Trump Administration designated Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention earlier this month. “It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals,” Mr. Rubio said in announcing the designation. He added the Taliban needed to “commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever.”A special envoy for hostage response for the administration, Adam Boehler, had issued a warning to the Taliban in an X post that if they didn’t release Americans they could “become the next Venezuela / Iran. Good luck with that.”The United Arab Emirates mediated Mr. Coyle’s release with assistance from Qatar.“While we celebrate Dennis’s return home, other American families are still waiting. The Taliban needs to immediately return Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans,” the office Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs stated in an X post on Tuesday.The Coyle family did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Tuesday’s release.

Taliban Frees American Academic Held More Than Year

Taliban Frees American Academic Held More Than Year

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