FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday 24th March 2026
Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Dennis’ life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 421 days of our lives.
We are profoundly grateful to President Trump and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio. We are also grateful to Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, and Julia Speer. We express our deepest gratitude to acting SPEHA Dustin Stewart and his extraordinary team, especially Paul Ellis for their efforts to help bring Dennis home. The countless hours of negotiations, unwavering support, and determination demonstrated by all involved have not gone unnoticed, and we will forever hold this kindness in our hearts.
To the team that has been by our side to advocate for Dennis’ release – we could not have done this without you. We are overwhelmed by the kindness of Hansel Lee for his tireless advocacy on behalf of Dennis, for his unwavering hard work and hours of time, and for his steadfast counsel to us throughout this ordeal.
We thank the NewsNation Family, especially Katie Pavlich and Chris Cuomo, who used their platforms to shed light on Dennis’ plight. Your efforts were instrumental in making his story known, and we would not have been reunited with Dennis were it not for your support. We are grateful for the amazing support from Hostage US as they walked with us through this unfathomable crisis and provided funds and counsel for our advocacy efforts. We also thank the Foley Foundation and Servants International for their support in bringing Dennis home.
To our many champions on the Hill, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James Risch, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Mark Kelly, and Senator John Hickenlooper, also Congressman Abe Hamadeh, Congressman Jeff Hurd, Congressman J. French Hill, and Congressman Jeff Crank – you never gave up on Dennis and are a testament to what we can achieve when we work together across party lines.
We wish to thank Sara Levinson for the work she has done over many years on behalf of so many families who have had their loved ones detained. Your instrumental work in getting the Levinson Act into law put things into motion so that the U.S. Government can put full efforts into bringing wrongfully-detained Americans back home. You also therefore played an important part in seeing Dennis released.
We want to extend our deepest thanks to the President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Government of the United Arab Emirates for their vital role in facilitating Dennis’ release. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to the Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and the government of Qatar for their visits to Dennis during his detainment as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan. Your efforts as mediators, your compassion, and your commitment to diplomacy have given our family the most precious gift imaginable: Dennis’ freedom. We also thank Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad for his contributions and advocacy on behalf of Dennis.
To our friends, neighbours, and everyone who prayed for Dennis’ safe return, called or wrote your Member of Congress, or fueled our advocacy in countless other ways, your support has carried us through the darkest moments. You reminded us that hope endures, even in the face of despair.
While we begin the healing process with Dennis back with us, we remain mindful of the many families who are still waiting for their loved ones to return, including the families of Mahmoud Habibi and Paul Overby. It was our hope that Dennis, Mahmoud Habibi, and Paul Overby would be returned together to their families, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them. We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today, and pledge to keep praying and fighting for all Americans held to be swiftly released.
At this time, the family is prioritising Dennis and his well-being. Please allow time for the family to be reunited with Dennis. They may choose to engage with media once they have been reunited.
With endless gratitude and hope,
The Family of Dennis Coyle
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Monday, March 9, 2026
media@freedenniscoyle.com
freedenniscoyle.com
*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***
Statement about the Trump Administration Designating Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention
Molly, Patti and Amy, sisters of wrongfully detained American citizen, Dennis Coyle, commend the Trump Administration’s designation of Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. His sisters have been advocating for his release since his detainment by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on January 27, 2025, 406 days ago.
Today at the U.S. Hostage and Detainee Day, Secretary Rubio brought a clear message:
“The United States will not tolerate hostage diplomacy… Under the President’s leadership we will not stop until every single, unjustly detained American is brought home.”
“The President isn’t just focused on homecomings, he is also focused on ending the cycle of exploitation… of ending the cycle where Americans are somehow seen as a valuable commodity, where you can grab an American, you can unjustly hold them, and try to trade them later on for some diplomatic or political concession.”
Both Secretary Rubio’s words and his designation of Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention clearly communicate to the Taliban the imperative to resolve American cases. Wrongfully holding US citizens makes relationship with the US government untenable.
At the U.S. Hostage and Detainee Day event, Amy Sessions and Molly Long spoke with Secretary Rubio about their brother’s ongoing wrongful detention.
Molly Long says, “Thank you, Secretary Marco Rubio, for speaking with me and my sister today. Your designation of Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention demonstrates your resolve to hold the Afghan Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence accountable for wrongfully detaining our brother Dennis Coyle for more than 400 days. We have great confidence in this administration! We also express our gratitude to Dr. Sebastian Gorka and Adam Boehler for prioritizing Dennis’s freedom and for working relentlessly to bring him home safely. We remain confident and thankful.”
President Trump signed Executive Order 14348 on September 5, 2025, empowering the Secretary of State to designate a nation as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention (SSWD). The order became law via the National Defense Authorization Act.
Media interested in covering Molly’s advocacy can contact our media contact at media@freedenniscoyle.com.
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About Dennis
Dennis Coyle is a U.S. citizen from Colorado who has dedicated nearly two decades of his life to serving the people of Afghanistan. He first arrived in the early 2000s with a clear purpose: to survey Afghanistan’s rich linguistic diversity and help Afghan communities develop resources in their own languages.
Throughout his years of service, Dennis maintained a home in Kabul and built deep, meaningful relationships with the Afghan people. Those who know him speak with profound appreciation for both the man and his work. Dennis has always embraced Afghan culture with genuine warmth—sharing cups of traditional green tea, enjoying dried fruit snacks, and engaging in the kind of heartfelt conversations that bridge cultures. His love for the Afghan people isn’t just professional; it’s personal and deeply felt.
For nearly twenty years, Dennis worked legally in Afghanistan, maintaining positive relationships with government ministries that provided his visas and work permits for conducting language surveys.
The family’s primary concern is for Dennis’s well-being. The family is distressed by the severe limits on communication and his near-solitary isolation conditions.