Afghanistan frees detained American Dennis Coyle after pressure from US

Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders on Tuesday released a U.S. researcher who had been detained in the country for over a year following pressure from the Trump administration. 

Dennis Coyle, who had been in captivity since January 2025, was released after his family asked the country’s government to pardon him on Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. 

Coyle’s family said they were “overjoyed” by the news in a brief statement to News Nation’s Matthew Stone on Tuesday. 

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the country’s government made the decision to release Coyle “on the basis of humanitarian compassion and goodwill.”

“The esteemed authority of the Supreme Court deemed his prior imprisonment sufficient, and today he was handed over to his family in Kabul,” the department wrote on the social platform X. 

The department said Coyle was “detained for violating the enforced laws of Afghanistan,” but did not specify which laws the American was accused of breaking. Coyle was not charged with any crimes during his imprisonment, according to his family.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated the country as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention,” specifically calling for Coyle’s release. The State Department had previously said that Coyle was wrongfully detained in the country in a declaration last June. 

Rubio celebrated Coyle’s release in a Tuesday statement and urged the Taliban to “end their practice of hostage diplomacy.”

“Today, after more than a year of captivity in Afghanistan, Dennis Coyle is on his way home,” Rubio said. “President Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas – Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office.

“We thank the United Arab Emirates for its support in securing Dennis’ release,” the secretary continued. “We also appreciate Qatar’s continued support and advocacy for Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan.”

While Rubio acknowledged that Coyle’s release was a “positive step,” he added that “more work needs to be done.” The secretary called out two Americans detain in Afghanistan: Mahmood Habibi and Paul Overby. 

Habibi, an American citizen who was born in Afghanistan, was abducted alongside his driver in Kabul in the summer of 2022. Overby, an American author, has been missing since 2014 when he disappeared while researching a book project, according to the FBI. The State Department is offering $5 million rewards for information leading to either Habibi’s or Overby’s recovery.

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