KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Taliban regime on Tuesday announced the release of US national Dennis Coyle, who had been detained since January 2025.
The Taliban foreign ministry said the decision followed a request from Coyle’s family to the country’s supreme leader.
“The Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate deemed his period of detention sufficient and decided on his release,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that he had been pardoned and freed.
The ministry said the United Arab Emirates facilitated the release.
Coyle was reunited with his family in Kabul on Tuesday following a meeting attended by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, former US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, UAE ambassador Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi and a member of Coyle’s family.
د افغانستان اسلامي امارت د کمکي اختر په مناسبت یو تن امریکایي تبعه «ډینس کویل»، چې د افغانستان له نافذه قوانینو څخه د سرغړونې له امله نیول شوی و، آزاد کړ.
د یاد بندي کورنۍ د اختر د مبارکو ورځو په مناسبت، او د افغانستان اسلامي امارت د مشرتابه له محترم مقام څخه د شفقت او عفوې… pic.twitter.com/5jmfUMlh9U— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Afghanistan (@MoFA_Afg) March 24, 2026
A Taliban official involved in negotiations told CBS News that talks between the Taliban and the United States had been ongoing since late February.
The US State Department later confirmed that Coyle, 64, was on his way home.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the release as “a positive step towards ending the practice of hostage diplomacy”.
Coyle, an academic and linguist from Colorado, was detained by Afghan authorities in January 2025 while working in Kabul, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for Americans held abroad.
A website set up by his family said he had been “legally working to support Afghan communities as an academic researcher” at the time of his arrest.
It said he was held in near-solitary confinement, requiring permission even to use the bathroom, and without adequate medical care.
Coyle had spent nearly two decades in Afghanistan researching linguistic diversity and supporting local communities.
His family said he had built “deep, meaningful relationships” with Afghans and maintained a home in Kabul.
The release comes amid strained relations between Washington and the Taliban regime, which the United States does not recognise.
Earlier this month, the US formally designated Afghanistan as a country engaged in “wrongful detentions”.
Coyle’s release follows a series of similar cases. Taliban authorities said five American citizens were freed in 2025 as a “goodwill gesture”.
In January, US nationals Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were released with the help of Qatari mediators, while others, including George Glezmann and Faye Hall, were freed in subsequent months.
