A United States citizen has been freed in Afghanistan after spending more than a year in detention, according to two US officials who spoke to CNN on Tuesday.
His release comes weeks after the Trump administration designated the country as a state sponsor of wrongful detention.
The man, Dennis Coyle, a 64-year-old academic, was arrested by the Taliban in Kabul in January 2025.
His family and the US government said he was never charged with any offence and was held largely in near-solitary confinement. Coyle had lived and worked in Afghanistan for almost two decades.
US officials said his release was not the result of any exchange or concessions. The development was first reported by The New York Times.
One official noted that the US designation of Afghanistan as a country involved in wrongful detention practices helped increase pressure for his release, though it will remain in place because at least two other Americans, Mahmood Habibi and Paul Overby, are still being held.
Officials also said the release was facilitated with support from the United Arab Emirates.
