American Academic Released After Year in Afghan Custody
Taliban policemen greet each other for Eid al-Fitr outside the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque before Eid prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
Afghan officials have freed American academic Dennis Coyle after detaining him for more than a year, with the Taliban’s foreign ministry announcing the release coinciding with Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the conclusion of Ramadan. According to a ministry statement, Coyle was released in Kabul following appeals from his family and a review by Afghanistan’s Supreme Court, which determined that his time in custody had been sufficient, the Associated Press reported. Coyle had been taken into custody in January 2025 over alleged legal violations, though Afghan authorities never publicly clarified the specific charges.
The foreign ministry also said that the United Arab Emirates and Qatar helped facilitate the release. It noted that Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met in Kabul with former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of Coyle’s return. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department labeled Afghanistan a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the country of using “hostage diplomacy.” This designation joins Iran as nations identified by the United States for detaining Americans to gain political leverage.
Afghanistan’s government rejected these claims, stating that arrests are carried out for legal violations, not to extract concessions. At least one other American is believed to be held in Afghanistan. Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman and former contractor for a Kabul telecommunications company, disappeared in 2022. His family and the FBI suspect he was taken by Taliban forces, though the Taliban deny holding him.
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