US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has officially labeled Afghanistan as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention,” condemning the Taliban for allegedly holding Americans and other foreigners unjustly.
During a Monday announcement, Rubio criticized the Taliban for their continued use of what he described as “terrorist tactics,” urging an immediate cessation of these practices.
“I am announcing Afghanistan’s designation as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” Rubio declared in a formal statement. “The Taliban’s reliance on terror tactics, including the kidnapping of individuals for ransom or to extract policy concessions, is unacceptable and must stop.”
Furthermore, Rubio urged the Taliban to release two Americans whom he claims are being held unjustly in Afghanistan.
He emphasized, “Traveling to Afghanistan is perilous for Americans due to the Taliban’s ongoing unjust detention of our citizens and other foreign nationals. The Taliban must immediately release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly held in Afghanistan and pledge to end hostage diplomacy permanently.”
According to Coyle’s family, the 64-year-old was detained over a year ago by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence and has yet to face any charges. His family stated that he was legally engaged in academic research to support Afghan language communities.
Habibi, a 38-year-old American citizen who was born in Afghanistan, was taken along with his driver from their vehicle in the capital of Kabul in August 2022 by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to the State Department.
The FBI said Habibi was previously Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation and worked for the Kabul-based telecommunications company Asia Consultancy Group. The FBI said the Taliban detained 29 other employees of the company but has released most of them.
Habibi has not been heard from since his arrest, and the Taliban has not disclosed his whereabouts or condition, according to the State Department and FBI. The Taliban has previously denied it detained Habibi.
The US is also calling for the return of the remains of Paul Overby, an author who was last seen close to Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan in 2014, according to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the situation.
The State Department could restrict the use of US passports for travel to Afghanistan if the Taliban does not meet the US government’s demands, the sources told the outlet.
A passport restriction of this kind is currently only in place for North Korea.
The Taliban called the decision by Rubio to designate Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” regrettable, adding that it wanted to resolve the matter through dialogue.
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 during the US military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country that ended the 20-year war in the region.
Rubio gave the “state sponsor of wrongful detention” designation to Iran late last month, just one day before the US-Israeli strikes on the country. He warned that the US could restrict travel to Iran over its detention of US citizens, but there have not been any restrictions yet.
“The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions,” Rubio said at the time.
Reuters contributed to this report.
