Two U.S. citizens, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, were not included in the recent prisoner exchange deal between the Biden administration and the Taliban that released two other Americans. Glezmann has been in detention since December 2022 and is described as a “totally innocent man” who was “a hard-working, blue-collar airline mechanic before he was wrongfully detained.” He has been held in a nine-foot square underground cell and has experienced deteriorating mental and physical health as a result of his detention.
Glezmann’s family is seeking his release, and a Senate resolution has called for his immediate release. The Taliban claims they do not hold Habibi, but his brother Ahmad says that is not true and that the family has multiple witnesses to his arrest and detention.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for the Taliban to be held accountable for the detention of the two Americans, saying that if the reports are true, a “VERY BIG bounty” should be placed on the top leaders of the Taliban. Rubio also accused the Biden administration of not making the release of Glezmann and Habibi a priority.
The Trump administration is being credited with being more proactive in securing the release of Glezmann and Habibi, with former Principal Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Hugh Dugan saying that the Trump administration could pursue multiple “lines of effort” to secure their release.
