Lawmakers heard emotional testimony Tuesday from Anna Corbett, whose husband, Ryan, has been wrongfully detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban for the last 15 months.
"I am here today because our family's in crisis," she said.
Holding back tears, Corbett told the House Foreign Affairs Committee how her husband's health has declined during the time he’s been held in "deplorable and inhumane" conditions within Kabul prisons, often in solitary confinement. He is fainting and experiencing seizures, and is often threatened with torture. His captors tell him he’s been forgotten, and that the U.S. doesn’t care about him.
“And why wouldn’t he believe it when other Westerns have come and gone so much faster than he?” she said. “The impact on his mental health is unspeakable.”
The Corbetts moved to Kabul in 2010 to work with NGOs in support of humanitarian projects. Then, in 2017, Ryan started a consulting and micro-finance company to help the Afghan people start their own business. They were forced to leave when the Taliban came to power in 2021, however. While he had made a successful trip back to ensure he could keep his business going in January 2022, his luck changed on a follow-up visit with a German colleague when were taken into custody by Taliban security.
"His crime? Being a U.S. citizen in Afghanistan," Corbett told lawmakers. He was officially charged with proselytizing Christianity, a claim he and his family deny. The State Department declared in September that he had been wrongfully detained, "which unlocks diplomatic and intelligence resources across the highest levels of government to secure the release of U.S. citizens through swaps or other means," The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Taliban has reportedly given the U.S. government a number of requests in exchange for Corbett, which Washington says are unrealistic, including the freeing of a Gitmo detainee, Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani. But the U.S. intelligence community believes he poses “a continuing significant threat to national security,” the Journal reports.
During Tuesday's hearing, Corbett shared a message she said was for the Taliban.
“Please end this,” she implored her husband’s captors. “Please end hostage diplomacy. I don’t know what it will take, but I need Ryan back. Our children need him. We need reassurance that Ryan will live long enough for all of this to be resolved. My husband was trying to do a good thing for the people of Afghanistan, now he is suffering and so are we.”
She continued, “We know that the U.S. and Afghanistan cannot move forward while American citizens are being wrongfully detained for political ends. I promise you that my family will not stop advocating for Ryan until he is released.”
Anna Corbett, whose husband has been detained by the Taliban for over a year, testifies in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 14, 2023
"I’m speaking now to the Taliban: Please end this. Please end hostage diplomacy. I don’t know what it will take, but I need Ryan back. Our… pic.twitter.com/GFY1b2hXf4
Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said several Americans are being held hostage.
"This is unacceptable and shows the deeply flawed approach this administration has taken since the Taliban regained control," he said.
"We will do everything in our power to bring your husband home," the Republican told Corbett. "I don't give up a fight easily, and I am going to fight hard for your husband."