Between the wars of Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Gaza, the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan seems for many like a distant memory.
But for Anna Corbett, it’s an ongoing nightmare.
Anna’s husband, Ryan Corbett, is one of at least three Americans who remain prisoners of the Taliban, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News. And after more than a year of staying silent out of fear of retaliation against her spouse, Anna is speaking out.
“I was really scared to put Ryan at risk,” Anna told NBC News. “I was advised to not raise his profile, raise his value, but it’s just become clear that he has a high value.”
According to the source, Ryan is languishing in a basement in Kabul, spending his days in a 9-by-9-foot cell.
He is not completely alone. Other Western prisoners are being held captive by the General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban’s top spy agency.
Ryan “survives on scraps of fatty meat, must request access to the bathroom, and rarely has access to sunlight, according to prisoners who once shared his cell and have since been released,” NBC News reports. “They say Ryan, who has been imprisoned since August 2022, has been fainting, experiencing seizures and has discolored extremities.”
Twice, one of Ryan’s fellow prisoners suffered sepsis. Fearing for her husband’s physical and mental well-being, Anna decided to break her 14-month-long silence, testifying before Congress two weeks ago and asking the nation’s lawmakers for help.
(Video: YouTube)
“I’ve been reassured Ryan is important. They’re not gonna let anything happen,” Anna said. “But … this man almost died.”
Though the United States does not recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s official government, it does continue to engage in diplomatic discussions with the radical Islamics. There is no longer a diplomatic U.S. presence in the country — that ended when the Biden administration closed the U.S. Embassy and pulled our troops out two years ago.
The more officials from the U.S. have increased their communications with the Taliban, the less Anna has heard from her husband, prompting her to speak out at last.
“It’s just been too long, and I’m concerned about increasing these conversations with the Taliban and maybe losing points of leverage that can be used for bringing Ryan home,” Anna explained. “I know it’s extremely complex, but I’m just a normal mom who wants her husband back.”
After spending her youth in Europe, the French-born Anna, 43, met Ryan, 40, while attending college in Wisconsin in 2000. Four years later, they were married.
One of their three children — 13-year-old Caleb — was born in Afghanistan. The couple also has two daughters, Ketsia, 18, and Miriam, 16. Next year, Ketsia will leave home for college, and Anna is hoping Ryan will be released before that milestone happens.
“The Corbetts moved to Afghanistan in 2010, working with NGOs supporting humanitarian projects and later starting ‘Bloom Afghanistan,’ a microfinance company focused on providing Afghans with the tools they needed to build successful small businesses,” NBC News reports. “Ryan learned to speak Pashto, the language spoken in southern and eastern Afghanistan, and became close to his clients and their families. Even after their family fled the country in 2021 with other Americans, the Corbetts struggled with leaving behind their home, their community and their lives in Afghanistan.”
Ryan returned to Afghanistan first in January 2022 and again in August of that year. It was during the second trip that the Taliban detained him, his European colleague, and two of his Afghan partners. All of Ryan’s companions were released, but, despite never having been charged with a crime, the humanitarian remains a prisoner.
The State Department has gotten involved, declaring in September that Ryan had been wrongfully detained. The finding paves the way for “high levels of diplomatic negotiations and resources including potential prisoner exchanges to secure his release,” according to NBC News.
As American families were preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving, Anna was even able to speak by phone with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Her family has had just one six-minute call with Ryan since his arrest.
“His last consular visit by the Qatari government, acting as a protecting power on behalf of the U.S. government, was in January 2023,” according to NBC News. “Earlier this month, Ryan was able to speak to U.S. consular officers for three minutes by phone and hear directly that the Biden administration was working on his case.”
While she is grateful for the Biden administration’s efforts, Anna fears her husband’s strength is running out.
“They’ve said this is our number-one priority. But there’s an American sitting in a basement for 15 months. I think they can do more,” Anna said. “They’ve done a lot and I’m grateful for that. But more needs to be done so he can be brought home.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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