Who is Dennis Coyle, US researcher freed by Taliban after over a year

Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration announced on Tuesday (March 24) that it has released an American researcher who had been detained for more than a year, a move that comes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration over the detention of US citizens. The country’s supreme leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, approved the release of Dennis Walter Coyle after receiving a clemency request from his family during Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the conclusion of Ramadan, according to the Afghan foreign ministry.

Who is Dennis Walter Coyle?

Coyle, 64, a Colorado native, had been in custody since January 2025. He spent over two decades in Afghanistan conducting linguistic research, his family said. According to a family-run website, he was never formally charged and was kept ‘in near-solitary conditions’. The US State Department had previously classified his case as a wrongful detention. Officials said the United Arab Emirates played a key role in facilitating the release. Saif Al Ketbi, the UAE’s special envoy to Afghanistan, confirmed being present in Kabul during the handover but did not disclose which party requested the mediation.

The release comes at a time of heightened tensions, with Washington warning of possible consequences if Americans continue to be held. Afghanistan is also dealing with escalating military friction with Pakistan, which accuses Kabul of backing militant groups operating across their border.

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Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled Afghanistan a ‘state sponsor of wrongful detention’, alleging that the Taliban engages in ‘kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions’. Adam Boehler, the US envoy for hostage affairs, has warned Taliban authorities that failure to release detained Americans could result in severe repercussions, referencing actions taken against leadership figures in countries such as Venezuela and Iran.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has intensified its air campaign inside Afghanistan, citing security threats from militants. The US has expressed support for Pakistan’s ‘right to defend itself’. American officials believe up to three US citizens remain in Taliban custody. Among them is Mahmood Shah Habibi, a dual US-Afghan national who went missing in 2022 shortly after a US drone strike in Kabul killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. His current status remains unclear.

Washington is also seeking information about Paul Edwin Overby Jr., an American writer last seen in 2014 in Khost while working on a book. Earlier this year, a Taliban spokesperson indicated willingness to release two American detainees, but linked the move to the fate of an Afghan prisoner held at Guantánamo Bay.

That detainee, Muhammad Rahim, is alleged to have served as a courier and interpreter for Osama bin Laden within Al Qaeda. “We want these two American detainees to be released, and, at the same time, the fate of our detainee who is in Guantánamo should be made clear,” Zabiullah Mujahid said in an interview.