Family of American Detained in Afghanistan Confirms His Release

 The Taliban confirmed they were holding Ryan Corbett, who was arrested in August 2022 and designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department.

Jan. 21, 2025, 11:55 AM GMT+6 / Updated Jan. 21, 2025, 12:50 PM GMT+6

An American citizen detained in Afghanistan has been released during the U.S. presidential transition, according to his family, in what appears to be a prisoner swap with the Taliban.

The Taliban had previously confirmed holding Ryan Corbett, an American arrested in Afghanistan in August 2022, whom the U.S. State Department had classified as wrongfully detained.

"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 Corbett family said in a statement early Tuesday.

In a statement, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that "American citizens" had been released in exchange for Khan Muhammad, an Afghan man arrested nearly two decades ago in the eastern province of Nangarhar. Muhammad had been serving a life sentence in California after being convicted in 2008 for narcoterrorism and heroin trafficking. He had also attempted to procure rockets for attacks on American and allied forces in Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC News that two U.S. nationals had been freed in exchange for Muhammad but did not reveal their identities.

The Corbett family expressed their gratitude to both former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday. A senior Taliban official familiar with the negotiations confirmed that the Biden administration had been in discussions with the Taliban about exchanging Americans detained in Afghanistan for Afghans held in U.S. custody. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Corbett family, along with the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also thanked the government of Qatar for its mediation efforts.

Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan for many years before the U.S. military withdrawal in 2021, was visiting the country when he was arrested. His family reported his declining health during his detention. They also expressed solidarity with other families awaiting the return of Americans still held in Afghanistan, including the families of George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, whose release is being discussed.

"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," the family said. "We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today and pledge to continue praying — and fighting — for George and Mahmoud’s swift release."

The Taliban had accused these three Americans of spying and preaching Christianity in Afghanistan, a country governed by Islamic law under their rule.

President Biden recently spoke with the families of Corbett, Glezmann, and Habibi. Throughout his presidency, Biden has helped bring back more than 75 American citizens and residents detained globally, including in prisoner exchanges with China and Russia.

Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong, and Mushtaq Yusufzai from Peshawar, Pakistan.