Afghan authorities on Tuesday (March 24, 2026)launched American tutorial Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a 12 months, with Afghanistan’s Taliban-run overseas ministry saying the discharge got here on the event of Id al-Fitr, the Muslim vacation that marks the tip of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A press release from the Ministry mentioned the tutorial researcher had been launched in Kabul, the nation’s capital, following an enchantment from his household and after Afghanistan’s Supreme Courtroom “thought of his earlier imprisonment adequate.” Mr. Coyle was detained in January 2025 on allegations of violating legal guidelines, though Afghan authorities by no means publicly said what legal guidelines he was accused of getting violated.
In a separate assertion, the Ministry indicated the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had helped mediate Mr. Coyle’s launch, and mentioned Overseas Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had met in Kabul with former US Particular Consultant for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad forward of the discharge.
Earlier this month, the U..S State Division introduced the designation of Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing it of partaking in “hostage diplomacy.” Afghanistan joined Iran as international locations singled out by the US for detaining People in hopes of extracting coverage concessions.
Afghanistan’s authorities rejected U.S. allegations that it detains foreigners to acquire leverage over different international locations, saying Afghan authorities arrest individuals for violating legal guidelines to not make a deal.
Afghan authorities are believed to carry at the least one different U.S. nationwide. Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who labored as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications firm, vanished within the nation in 2022.
The FBI and Mr. Habibi’s household have mentioned they consider he was taken by Taliban forces, however the Taliban have denied holding him.
Printed – March 24, 2026 07:03 pm IST