Taliban have held Atlanta man captive for more than a year in Afghanistan – WSB-TV Channel 2

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He visited many exotic places.

But around the second day he was visiting Afghanistan, he was arrested by Taliban intelligence and has since been held most of the time in a basement in Kabul.

“Our mission is to secure George’s release from the Taliban,” said Glezmann family attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick.

Channel 2 Action News obtained a letter dated Oct. 10 from Ambassador Roger D. Carstens, the president’s special envoy for hostage affairs.

It says in part: “…the US Department of State has determined that US citizen George Glezmann was unjustly detained in Afghanistan. He was arrested on December 5, 2022 and has since been held in a detention center in Kabul, Afghanistan.

“George was arrested on his way to Afghanistan primarily for historical and tourism purposes,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said he worked on a number of hostage cases when he was a federal prosecutor and signed on last week on a pro bono basis to help Glezmann’s family get him home.

A YouTube video shows Glezmann exploring other cultures.

Late in life, he earned a degree in anthropology and visited more than 100 countries.

“He was legally in Afghanistan. He found himself in unfortunate circumstances that lasted too long,” Fitzpatrick said.

A State Department spokesperson said: “The United States is concerned for the well-being of George Glezmann and other Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan and is actively working to secure their release. U.S. officials have continued to press, including in meetings with Taliban representatives, for the immediate and unconditional release of Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan, emphasizing that these detentions pose a significant obstacle to positive engagement.

Fitzpatrick says he was told the Taliban had recently allowed a doctor to examine Glezmann and that he had urgent medical issues, including a benign tumor affecting his vision and requiring treatment.

Fitzpatrick says the Biden administration has been attentive to Glezmann’s plight, but it’s time to step up its efforts.

“I think the White House needs to recognize that there is a sense of urgency at this point,” Fitzpatrick said.

Glezmann’s wife received a copy of a February letter to President Biden from Georgia Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

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He said: “We are grateful for your administration’s efforts on behalf of George, and we urge you to maintain and redouble, with the greatest urgency, your efforts to secure his release. »

“The Taliban must recognize that they have obligations if they want to be present on the world stage,” Fitzpatrick said. “And those obligations are respect for the rule of law, respect for human rights and respect for human dignity. And if they release George on humanitarian grounds, they will demonstrate it.”

A retired federal agent who worked with the family to bring Glezmann home says he hopes the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will hear that the family would appreciate forgiveness for any mistakes Glezmann made and asks that he be released on humanitarian grounds for immediate medical treatment. treatment.

Glezmann was arrested months after the U.S. military officially withdrew from Afghanistan.

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