George Glezmann was abducted while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist in December 2022. His release was brokered by US and Qatari negotiators.
A US citizen who had been detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban for over two years has been released, the US State Department said on Thursday.
George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was abducted by the Taliban’s intelligence services while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist in December 2022.
“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “President [Donald] Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.”
A source close to the deal told Reuters news agency that Glezmann left Afghanistan on a Qatari aircraft on Thursday evening bound for Doha, accompanied by US hostage envoy Adam Boehler. From there, he is expected to travel to the United States.
Rubio thanked Qatar for its “steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts,” which he said were “instrumental in securing George’s release.”
Glezmann: Where did negotiations take place?
According to Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Chan Muttaki (pictured top), negotiations with a US delegation took place in Kabul itself, where “bilateral relationships, the release of prisoners and consular services for Afghans in the United States” were discussed.
The release of Glezmann is part of what the Taliban has previously described as the “normalization” of ties between Kabul and Washington following the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Muttaki expressed a desire for further dialogue between Afghanistan and the United States and called for the two countries to “leave behind the consequences of 20 years of war and develop political and economic relations with each other.”
No foreign country has yet officially recognized the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but Qatar has served as a mediation hub since the Taliban opened a political office in Doha in 2013.
Glezmann is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January.
US officials believe the Taliban are still holding Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi, but the Taliban has denied this.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
DW News
