Officials said Glezmann’s release was done as the result of negotiations and no prisoner exchange took place
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An American man who was abducted by the Taliban more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan was released as part of a deal struck by the Trump administration, the State Department said.
George Glezmann, a 66-year-old airline mechanic from Atlanta, was on his way back to the United States on Thursday morning after being held by the Taliban since December 2022, when he was seized while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist.
He is the third American to be released by the Taliban since January. His release is the result of negotiations that were brokered with help from the Qatari government. No one was released in exchange for Glezmann, a U.S. official told CNN.
George Glezmann was captured by the Taliban in 2022 while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist
George Glezmann was captured by the Taliban in 2022 while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist
“George Glezmann is free. George was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan for two and a half years, but now he’s on his way to be reunited with his wife Aleksandra,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “Welcome home, George!”
Glezmann was accompanied back to the U.S., through Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration.
Qatar has hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban over the years.
The release of Glezmann is part of what the Taliban has previously described as the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Most countries still don’t recognize the Taliban’s rule.
“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 said.
Glezmann’s release follows a separate deal, arranged in the final days of the Biden administration and also mediated by the Qataris, that secured the releases of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty.
The two were exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008 after being convicted under U.S. narco-terrorism laws.
Unlike in that arrangement, the U.S. did not give up any prisoner to secure Glezmann’s release, which was done as a goodwill gesture, according to an official briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.
The Taliban disclosed earlier Thursday that Boehler had been meeting on hostage issues with a delegation that included Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
President Joe Biden contemplated before he left office an earlier proposal that would have involved the release of Glezmann and other Americans for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But Biden told families during a call in January that he would not support trading Rahim unless the Taliban released Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi.
U.S. officials believe the Taliban is holding Habibi, but the Taliban has denied it.
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Additional reporting by AP.