March 20 (UPI) — George Glezmann, a Delta Airlines mechanic detained by the Taliban during a trip to Afghanistan in 2022, was on his way back to the United States on Thursday, both Washington and Kabul confirmed.
Little information about the release was made public, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Qatar was “instrumental” in the process.
“Qatar has consistently proven to be a reliable partner and trusted mediator, facilitating complex negotiations,” Rubio said in a statement.
The Afghan foreign ministry said in a separate statement that the Taliban released Glezmann “as a goodwill gesture, reflecting Afghanistan’s readiness to genuinely engaging all sides, particularly the United States of America, on the basis of mutual respect and interests.”
Qatar, in a statement of its own, said Glezmann had arrived in Doha on Thursday and was to depart for his home country.
Glezmann, 66, was detained by the Taliban’s intelligence services on Dec. 5, 2022, more than a year after the militant group retook Afghanistan amid the United States’ withdrawal from the country.
In September 2023, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that Glezmann was wrongfully detained.
“Today is a good day,” Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said on X. “George is on his way home to his family.”
Hafiz Zia Ahmad, director of public communication and deputy spokesman for the Taliban, published pictures online showing Khalilzad and U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler meeting with their Afghan counterparts across a long table.
“The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to @POTUS and the American people,” Khalilzad continued in his statement. “@realDonaldTrump has made the freedom and homecoming of Americans held abroad a high priority. It is an honor to assist in this important effort.”
د ا.ا.ا. د بهرنيو چارو وزير محترم مولوي امير خان متقي سره نن د بنديانو په چارو کې د امريکا متحده ايالتونو د ولسمشر ځانگړي استازي او ورسره د افغانستان لپاره د امریکا پخواني ځانگړي استازي ښاغلي زلمي خليلزاد او ملپلاوي وکتل.
په دې ناسته کې د افغانستان او امریکا پر دوو اړخيزو اړيکو، pic.twitter.com/GLzj7rDOwJ— Hafiz Zia Ahmad (@HafizZiaAhmad) March 20, 2025
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle had spent the years Glezmann was in captivity trying to secure his release.
Last year, Rep. Nikema Williams, D- Ga, where Glezmann is a resident, introduced a bill that was seemingly never brought to the floor calling for the detained American’s release.
“Since last summer, we’ve been working to get George home,” she said in a statement on Bluesky. “After a Congressional resolution and a letter expressing the urgency of his safe return, I am grateful for his release and elated to know George will be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra, and his family.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., had also petitioned presidents from both parties to secure Glezmann’s release. In a statement Thursday, the reverend said, “I’m beyond thrilled that George Glezmann is returning home.
Glezmann is the third American detained in Afghanistan to be released by the Taliban during the Trump administration. On the night of Jan. 20, President Donald Trump‘s inauguration, Americans Ryan Corbett and Williman McKenty were released from captivity in Afghanistan in a prisoner swap.