In an apparent prisoner swap with the Taliban, at least one American who had been jailed in Afghanistan was freed during the U.S. presidential transition, according to his family.
The Taliban had acknowledged that they were in custody of Ryan Corbett, an American who was unlawfully imprisoned by the State Department after being apprehended in Afghanistan in August 2022.
His family posted a statement on their website early Tuesday, saying, “Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives.”
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement that “American citizens” had been freed in return for Khan Muhammad, who had been serving a life sentence in California after being detained in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar some 20 years prior.
Muhammad was found guilty in 2008 of narcoterrorism and heroin distribution, according to the U.S. Justice Department. It claimed that Muhammad, a member of the Afghan Taliban, had bought opium to be turned into heroin and shipped to the US, as well as tried to obtain rockets for assaults on Americans and their friends in Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told NBC News Tuesday that two Americans had been freed in return for Muhammad, but he would not say who they were.
Both former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, who took office on Monday, were thanked by the Corbett family. A top Taliban leader with intimate knowledge of the conversations told NBC News this month that the Biden administration had been in discussions with the Taliban to swap Afghans in U.S. custody for Americans held in Afghanistan.
Requests for response on Tuesday were not immediately answered by the State Department or the White House.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Corbett family also thanked the Qatari government for its efforts at mediation.
Before the U.S.-led forces left Afghanistan in 2021, Corbett had lived there for a long time. He was on a visit when he was arrested. During his incarceration, his health was reportedly deteriorating.
The families of George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, whose release has just been suggested as a possibility, are among the Americans still awaiting the homecoming of other Americans detained in Afghanistan, the Corbett family stated.
“It was our hope that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be returned to their families together, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them,” they stated. “We recognize the immense privilege of our family s reunion today, and pledge to keep praying and fighting for George and Mahmoud s swift release.”
The Taliban said that the three Americans were accused of espionage and spreading Christianity in Afghanistan, which is governed by Islamic law.
This month, Biden had conversations with Habibi, Glezmann, and Corbett’s relatives.
Over 75 American citizens and residents who had been incarcerated abroad, notably in prisoner swaps with China and Russia, were returned by Biden during his four years in office.
Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar, Pakistan, while Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
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