American citizen Dennis Coyle, detained since January 2025 on a general charge of violating laws, has been freed in Kabul. The United States welcomed the academic's release but immediately called for the release of two other Americans imprisoned in Afghanistan. "While this is a positive step by the Taliban, much remains to be done. We continue to call for the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Afghan authorities attributed Coyle's release, coinciding with Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, to a positive response to the family's appeal and the Supreme Court's ruling that "the time spent in prison can be considered sufficient." They also specified that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates acted as mediators. Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had also met in Kabul with the former White House special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad.
