Dennis Coyle, American Held By The Taliban, Released After More Than A Year
HuffPost
Coyle was detained in January 2025 on allegations of violating laws, although Afghan authorities never publicly stated what laws he was accused of having violated.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Tuesday released American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul, the country’s capital, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s Supreme Court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient.”
Coyle was detained in January 2025 on allegations of violating laws, although Afghan authorities never publicly stated what laws he was accused of having violated.
In a separate statement, the ministry indicated the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had helped mediate Coyle’s release, and said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had met in Kabul with former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of the release.
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department announced the designation of Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing it of engaging in “hostage diplomacy.” Afghanistan joined Iran as countries singled out by the United States for detaining Americans in hopes of extracting policy concessions.
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