Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Tuesday released American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul, the country’s capital, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s Supreme Court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient.”
Coyle was detained in January 2025 on allegations of violating laws, although Afghan authorities never publicly stated what laws he was accused of having violated.
In a separate statement, the ministry indicated the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had helped mediate Coyle’s release, and said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had met in Kabul with former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of the release.
Afghanistan released Coyle “based on humanitarian sympathy and goodwill, and believes that such steps can further strengthen the atmosphere of trust between countries,” the Foreign Ministry said in its statement, adding that Kabul “also expresses the hope that both countries will find solutions to the remaining problems through understanding and constructive dialogue in the future.”
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Afghanistan Releases American National Dennis Coyle After more than a Year
03/24/2026
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