Taliban release American academic Dennis Coyle after more than a year in detention

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Tuesday released Dennis Coyle , a 64-year-old American academic and linguistics researcher, after holding him for more than a year, describing the move as a humanitarian gesture ahead of Eid al-Fitr , which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan .

A statement from Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said Coyle was freed in Kabul after the country’s Supreme Court concluded that the time he had already spent in custody was sufficient. Officials said the decision followed appeals from his family, including a request from his mother seeking his release during Eid.

Coyle had been detained in January 2025 after Taliban intelligence officials allegedly took him from his apartment in Kabul. Authorities accused him of violating Afghan laws but never publicly specified the charges.

His family said he spent about 421 days in detention , often in near-solitary confinement with limited communication and restricted access to medical care. The US government later classified his detention as wrongful.

The Colorado-born researcher had lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades conducting linguistic and cultural studies with local communities.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the release, saying President Donald Trump remained committed to securing the freedom of Americans detained abroad. However, Rubio stressed that further efforts were needed to bring home other US nationals still believed to be missing or detained.

Washington continues to seek information about Mahmood Habibi , an Afghan-American businessman who disappeared in Kabul in 2022 and is believed by US officials to have been detained by the Taliban, although the group denies holding him. Another American, Paul Overby , a writer researching a book, went missing in Khost province in 2014 and remains listed as missing.

Earlier this month, the United States designated Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention,” accusing the Taliban of engaging in “hostage diplomacy.” Taliban officials rejected the claim, saying foreigners are detained only for violating Afghan laws.

Both sides thanked the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for helping mediate the release. Coyle later travelled to the United Arab Emirates after his release.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of US troops after nearly two decades of war.