Chicago – March 25, 2026
The Taliban government announced the release of U.S. citizen Dennis Coyle, a 64-year-old academic researcher from Colorado, on March 24, 2026, after 422 days in custody. Detained on January 27, 2025, without formal charges for alleged law violations while studying Afghan languages, Coyle was held in near-solitary confinement by Taliban intelligence.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) freed him for Eid al-Fitr, following a mercy plea from his family—especially his mother—to supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi confirmed the Supreme Court deemed his imprisonment sufficient, handing him over in Kabul.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed it as a “positive step” against hostage diplomacy, thanking UAE and Qatar for mediation; former envoy Zalmay Khalilzad attended talks. Coyle, a wrongful detainee per the State Department, is heading home, though three other Americans remain held.
