According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the family of linguist and researcher Dennis Coyle had petitioned the Supreme Leader of Afghanistan for his release on the occasion of Eid.
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The Taliban government in Afghanistan has announced the release of an American citizen who has been held captive for more than a year.
The family of linguist and researcher Dennis Coyle had petitioned the Supreme Leader of Afghanistan for his release on the occasion of Eid, according to the Foreign Ministry. "The Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate has decided to release him after considering his detention period sufficient," the ministry said in a statement.
1The announcement came after a meeting between Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki, former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, UAE Ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed al-Ketabi and a family member of Coyle.
The ministry said the UAE facilitated the release and Coyle was reunited with his family in Kabul on Tuesday. Coyle, 64, was arrested by Afghan authorities in January 2025.
According to a statement issued by his family, he was arrested while working as an academic researcher to support the Afghan community.
The family claims he was held in near-incommunicado detention, required permission to visit even the most basic amenities, and denied adequate medical care.
Koyal first arrived in Afghanistan in the early 2000s, where he helped study linguistic diversity and develop resources in the local language.
He had lived in Kabul for years and had developed deep connections with the Afghan people. Earlier this month, the US added Afghanistan to a list of countries that “wrongly detain people.”
Afghan officials called the decision “tragic” and said they had been mediating in talks between the two sides and in the previous release process.
In 2025, the Taliban government said it had released five American citizens as a “goodwill gesture.”
