Taliban release US citizen who was abducted while travelling in Afghanistan

An American man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist has been released by the Taliban in a deal with the Trump administration that Qatari negotiators helped broker, the State Department said.

George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 and was designated by the US government as wrongfully detained the following year.

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Glezmann was on his way back to the United States to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra, and praised Qatar for “steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts” that he said were “instrumental in securing George’s release.”

“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Rubio said. “It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.”

Former US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (C) shakes hands with Amir Khan Muttaqi as US official Adam Boehler watches, before their meeting in Kabul. AFP

Glezmann was being accompanied back to the US, through Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration. The Taliban disclosed earlier on Thursday that Boehler had met with a delegation that included Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Glezmann, 66, was in Afghanistan as a tourist at the time of his abduction and has visited more than 100 countries as part of his passion for exploring different cultures, according to a profile on the website of the Foley Foundation, an organization that advocates for the release of Americans detained by foreign countries.

The release of Glezmann is part of what the Taliban has previously described as the “normalisation” of ties between the US and Afghanistan following the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Most countries still don’t recognize the Taliban’s rule.

Glezmann’s release follows a separate deal, arranged in January in the final days of the Biden administration and also mediated by the Qataris, that secured the releases of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty.

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul said at the time that those two US citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008 after being convicted under US narco-terrorism laws for securing heroin and opium that he knew was bound for the US.

Unlike in that arrangement, the US did not give up any prisoner to secure Glezmann’s release, which was done as a goodwill gesture, according to an official briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.

On Thursday, Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Glezmann’s release on “humanitarian grounds.” In a statement, it said the “Islamic Emirate again reaffirms its longstanding position that dialogue, understanding and diplomacy provide effective avenues for resolving all issues.”

Associated Press