WASHINGTON (AP) — An American man who was kidnapped greater than two years in the past whereas touring by Afghanistan as a vacationer has been launched by the Taliban in a take care of the Trump administration that Qatari negotiators helped dealer, the State Division stated Thursday.
George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is the third American detainee to be launched by the Taliban since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence companies in December 2022 and was designated by the U.S. authorities as wrongfully detained the next 12 months.
In an announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Glezmann was on his means again to the US to be reunited along with his spouse, Aleksandra. He additionally praised Qatar for “steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts” that he stated had been “instrumental in securing George’s release.”
“George’s release is a positive and constructive step. 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,” Rubio stated.
Glezmann was being accompanied again to the U.S., by Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been dealing with hostage points for President Donald Trump’s administration. Qatar has hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban through the years.
The discharge of Glezmann is a part of what the Taliban has beforehand described because the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Most nations nonetheless don’t acknowledge the Taliban’s rule.
Glezmann’s launch follows a separate deal, organized within the last days of the Biden administration and in addition mediated by the Qataris, that secured the releases of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty. The Taliban’s International Ministry in Kabul stated on the time that these two U.S. residents had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to 2 life phrases in 2008 after being convicted underneath U.S. narco-terrorism legal guidelines.
In contrast to in that association, the U.S. didn’t hand over any prisoner to safe Glezmann’s launch, which was performed as a goodwill gesture, in response to an official briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity as a result of sensitivity of the negotiations.
The Taliban disclosed earlier Thursday that Boehler had been assembly on hostage points with a delegation that included Afghan International Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
President Joe Biden contemplated earlier than he left workplace an earlier proposal that will have concerned the discharge of Glezmann and different People for Muhammad Rahim, one of many remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However Biden informed households throughout a name in January that he wouldn’t help buying and selling Rahim until the Taliban launched Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi.
U.S. officers consider the Taliban is holding Habibi, however the Taliban has denied it.
Related Press writers Victoria Eastwood in Cairo and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
