Taliban says it is releasing detained U.S. citizen Dennis Coyle
#Taliban #Dennis Coyle #U.S. citizen #detention #release #Afghanistan #diplomacy
📌 Key Takeaways
- Taliban announces release of detained U.S. citizen Dennis Coyle
- Dennis Coyle was held in Taliban custody prior to release
- Release indicates potential diplomatic or humanitarian negotiation
- Incident highlights ongoing U.S.-Taliban relations post-U.S. withdrawal
📖 Full Retelling
The foreign ministry said in a statement it agreed after a letter from his family that Dennis Coyle "would be pardoned and released" for Eid.
🏷️ Themes
International Relations, Detainee Release
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Original Source
World Taliban says it is releasing U.S. citizen Dennis Coyle over a year after he was detained By Stephen Smith Stephen Smith Managing Editor Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo. Read Full Bio Stephen Smith March 24, 2026 / 8:35 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Afghanistan's Taliban government on Tuesday announced that it was releasing a U.S. national who had been detained since January 2025. The foreign ministry said in a statement it agreed to the release after a letter from his family that Dennis Coyle "would be pardoned and released" for Eid. A Taliban senior official involved in prisoner negotiations told CBS News that the Taliban and U.S. have been holding talks since the last week of February. Coyle, a 64-year-old academic from Colorado, was taken by force from his Kabul apartment by the Taliban. His abduction came just six days after another American, Ryan Corbett, was released at the start of President Trump's second term. Coyle, who spent nearly two decades in Afghanistan conducting language research, was being held by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence in near-solitary confinement with no charges filed, according to his family. Coyle's capture so soon after Corbett's release illustrates the ongoing risks faced by Americans in Afghanistan, even those with long-standing legal status and deep ties to local communities. Last June, the U.S. government officially designated Coyle as wrongfully detained under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, a status that unlocks select government tools and elevates the priority of efforts to secure his release. The United States does not recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government and lacks a diplomatic presence in the country, complicating release negotiations that are...
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