US Citizen Released By Taliban After Year-Long Detention In Afghanistan

Last Updated:March 24, 2026, 21:51 IST

Taliban pardons American Dennis Walter Coyle after over a year in Afghan detention as US hails release aided by United Arab Emirates amid ongoing detainee tensions.

The Taliban has released an American citizen who was held in Afghanistan for more than a year, in a move welcomed by the United States amid ongoing tensions over detentions.

Dennis Walter Coyle, 64, was arrested in January 2025 while living in Afghanistan, where he had been working as a language researcher, according to his family.

In a statement, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run foreign ministry said Coyle had been pardoned ahead of Eid al-Fitr, adding that his period of imprisonment was deemed “sufficient" by the country’s Supreme Court.

“The esteemed authority of the Supreme Court deemed his prior imprisonment sufficient, and today he was handed over to his family in Kabul," the ministry said.

Coyle had not been formally charged with any crime during his detention. His family said he was held in near-solitary conditions, raising concerns about his health during captivity.

Speaking briefly after his release, Coyle said he was “feeling good".

The US government welcomed the development, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirming that Coyle was on his way home.

“Today, after more than a year of captivity in Afghanistan, Dennis Coyle is on his way home," Rubio said, adding that President Donald Trump remains committed to ending “unjust detentions" of Americans abroad.

The release was facilitated with support from the United Arab Emirates, whose special envoy to Afghanistan, Saif Al Ketbi, was present in Kabul during the handover. Officials said the move followed negotiations between Washington and the Taliban.

Coyle had first arrived in Afghanistan in the early 2000s to study local languages and help communities develop educational resources. A letter from his family described him as someone who had “carried a deep love for Afghanistan in his heart for nearly twenty years."

His release comes weeks after the US designated Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention," accusing the Taliban of detaining foreign nationals for leverage. Taliban authorities have denied the allegation.

Despite Coyle’s release, concerns remain over other Americans still believed to be held in Afghanistan. At least two cases remain unresolved, including Mahmood Habibi, who went missing in 2022, and Paul Overby, who disappeared in 2014.

Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who was present at Coyle’s release, expressed hope that more detainees would be freed in the coming months.

However, with the US not formally recognising the Taliban government and lacking a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, negotiations continue to rely on intermediaries, making such releases complex and uncertain.

News world US Citizen Released By Taliban After Year-Long Detention In Afghanistan

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