The brother of Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American citizen, claims that Habibi was unjustly arrested by the Taliban without having committed any crime. The family is now calling for his immediate release from Taliban custody.
Ahmad Shah Habibi, Mahmood’s brother, disclosed that the Taliban detained him on suspicion of being associated with a company involved in an airstrike. “Over the past two years, we learned that the Taliban thought the company that employed my brother might have been involved in the strike,” Ahmad Shah told The Hill. “We can’t speak for the company that employed him, but Mahmood certainly had nothing to do with such activities.”
Mahmood is one of the individuals who designed and built Afghanistan’s civil aviation system. He worked on it during the time the Americans were in Afghanistan and later became the Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation.
Mahmood Shah Habibi and Ryan Corbett, another American citizen, were both arrested in August 2022. Ahmad Shah emphasized that his brother’s return to Afghanistan shortly after the airstrike is evidence that he was unaware of any connection between his employer and the incident. Mahmood was arrested 11 days after the U.S. drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former leader of al-Qaeda, in Kabul’s Sherpur district.
The U.S. Department of State has expressed deep concern over the detention of American citizens by the Taliban. “We are deeply concerned about the well-being of Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan—Mahmood, Ryan, and George Glezmann—and raise their detentions in every engagement we have with the Taliban,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said. “Bringing them home will continue to be a top priority for the United States as we work to obtain their release.”
However, some Afghan citizens have criticized the U.S. for prioritizing the release of its nationals while seemingly overlooking the broader human rights abuses under the Taliban regime. “The U.S. is ready to recognize the Taliban in order to secure the release of three prisoners but ignores the human rights situation and the ban on girls’ education,” said Maryam, an Afghan citizen who asked to remain anonymous.
“The U.S. should stand with the Afghan people to improve the current situation and ensure human rights in Afghanistan,” added Marwa, another anonymous source.
The U.S. has repeatedly called for the release of its detained citizens, including Mahmood Shah Habibi, Ryan Corbett, and George Glezmann. The Taliban, however, has reportedly conditioned the release of the Americans on the return of its members currently held by the U.S.
