Washington DC (TDI): The two-year-long abduction of an American man who had been travelling to Afghanistan for tourism has led to the release of the American by the Taliban in a deal done by US and Qatari negotiators, as confirmed by the State Department on Thursday.
George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is now the third American detainee freed from the clutches of the Taliban government since January.
He was picked up in December 2022 by the intelligence services of the Taliban and was classified the following year as wrongfully detained by his government the United States.
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. Welcome home, George! 🇺🇸
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 20, 2025
He was being taken back to the United States via Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration. Qatar has been the host for years for negotiations between the US and Taliban.
Glezmann’s release is just one of many such acts that Taliban officials previously recognized as part of the ‘normalization’ process between the US and Afghanistan after the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from the latter country in 2021.
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Glezmann’s release came under a different pact, the arrangements of which were made in the last days of the Biden administration and were also mediated by the Qataris, for securing the two Americans’ freedom: Ryan Corbett and William McKenty.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul stated that the two aforementioned American citizens had been substituted for Khan Mohammed, convicted in 2008 to two life imprisonments under US narco-terrorism laws.
In contrast to that arrangement, the United States actually did not give up any prisoner to secure the release of Glezmann, which was deemed goodwill-based, according to a source briefed on the subject who insisted on anonymity because of negotiations sensitivity.
Earlier Thursday, the Taliban confirmed that Boehler was meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and a group on hostage issues.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the 26th US Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq applauded the recent actions by the Afghan Taliban and mentioned that the Kabul government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to President Trump and the American people.
Today is a good day. We succeeded in obtaining the release of an American citizen, Georg Glezmann, after two years in detention in Kabul. The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to @POTUS and the American people. George is on his way home to his family.…
— Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) March 20, 2025
Before leaving office, President Joe Biden considered an earlier proposal whereby Glezmann and other Americans would be released for Muhammad Rahim, one of the last few detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
However, President Biden told families during a call in January that he would not support trading Rahim unless the Taliban released Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi.
Areeba Kanwal is a contributor at The Diplomatic Insight and has passion for International Relations and diplomacy.
