US detainee Dennis Coyle released by Taliban after more than a year

The US declared Taliban-run Afghanistan as a state-sponsor of wrongful detention in early March.

Dennis Coyle, an American academic detained in Afghanistan since January 2025, was released by the Taliban on March 24, 2026, coinciding with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr. The Afghan Supreme Court deemed his previous imprisonment sufficient, though specific charges were never disclosed. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the release, emphasizing efforts to end unjust foreign detentions. The U.S. had recently designated Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the Taliban of 'hostage diplomacy.'

The U.S. State Department officially designated Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the Taliban of engaging in 'hostage diplomacy' by detaining Americans to extract policy concessions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for the release of Americans believed to be in Taliban custody, including Dennis Coyle and Mahmood Habibi. The Taliban rejected the allegations, stating that detentions were for legal violations, not political leverage.

Afghanistan's Taliban government rejected U.S. allegations of engaging in 'hostage diplomacy,' asserting that detentions of foreign nationals were for legal violations, not to gain political leverage. This response followed the U.S. State Department's designation of Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the Taliban of using detentions as a tool for policy concessions. The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the U.S. designation as 'regrettable' and emphasized ongoing diplomatic discussions.