Dennis Coyle, American Held By The Taliban, Released After More Than A Year

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban officials were released Tuesday American academic Dennis Coyle After detaining him for more than a year, the foreign ministry said his release was occasioned by: Ramadan FeastMuslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the holy month of Islam.

In the statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that the academic researcher was released in the country’s capital, Kabul, after his family objected and the Supreme Court of Afghanistan “found the previous prison sentence sufficient”.

Coyle was detained in January 2025 for allegedly violating the law, but Afghan authorities have never publicly disclosed which laws he was accused of violating.

In a separate statement, the ministry said the United Arab Emirates and Qatar mediated Coyle’s release and said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in Kabul before his release.

Earlier this month, the US State Department Description of Afghanistan As a sponsor of unjust detention, she accuses him of engaging in “hostage diplomacy.” Afghanistan has joined Iran among countries chosen by the United States to detain Americans in the hope of gaining policy concessions.

The Afghan government has rejected US allegations that it detains foreigners to gain influence over other countries, saying Afghan authorities are detaining people who violate the law to avoid making deals.

Afghanistan released Coyle “on the basis of humanitarian sympathy and goodwill and believes that such steps can further strengthen the atmosphere of trust between the countries,” he said, adding that Kabul “expressed the hope that both countries will find solutions to the remaining problems in the future through understanding and constructive dialogue.”

The US State Department had no comment on Coyle’s release.

Afghan authorities are believed to be holding at least one other US citizen. Afghan American businessman Mahmood Habibi, who worked as a contractor in a Kabul-based telecommunications company, disappeared in the country in 2022.

The FBI and Habibi’s family said they believed Habibi was kidnapped by Taliban forces, but Afghan officials denied that Habibi was being held.

Habibi’s brother, Ahmad Habibi, welcomed Coyle’s release but said in a statement: “We hope our family will soon feel the same sense of relief when Mahmood returns home.”