The family of an American man imprisoned in Afghanistan is planning to meet directly with his Taliban captors as they feel overlooked by the Biden administration, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The Taliban first detained George Glezmann, who worked for Delta Airlines as a mechanic, in December 2022 while the American was on a tour of Afghanistan, according to the WSJ. His family, desperate for his release from captivity, now plans to meet directly with Taliban officials to negotiate, in part because they do not feel like the administration has adequately communicated and coordinated with them.
“We are in the process of finalizing a meeting in Doha with the [Taliban] to try to recover George,” Glezmann family representative George Taylor wrote in an email to national security adviser Jake Sullivan and other top U.S. officials last week, according to the WSJ. Taylor further stated that the administration has not focused much on Glezmann’s plight while his health worsens in captivity, and called on U.S. officials “to exhibit the necessary courage and leadership that it takes to facilitate the release of George.”
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Aleksandra Glezmann, George’s wife, told the WSJ that her husband has a benign tumor on the left side of his body, respiratory problems and his left eye is losing vision. She is set to meet Sullivan for a Sept. 11 meeting about her husband, but she is hoping to secure an earlier meeting because she is concerned that George Glezmann’s health could be worsening quickly, according to the WSJ.
The State Department designated Glezmann as wrongfully detained about 10 months after he was seized by the Taliban; that designation gives the federal government broad authority to arrange Glezmann’s release from captivity.
Officials from the National Security Council and a State Department office focused on hostage negotiations previously cautioned Taylor that arranging a meeting between the family and the Taliban could actually make it more difficult to secure Glezzman’s release because U.S. officials had plans to meet with Taliban officials in the near future, Taylor told the WSJ. The family’s plans to meet with the Taliban are on pause until American officials have their next meeting with the Taliban, but Taylor would fly to Qatar for a meeting if he and the family determined that they do not feel like progress is being made.
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“The State Department has regular contact with George Glezmann’s family and its representatives. We aren’t going to share any details of our private conversations,” a State Department official told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The United States is deeply concerned about the well-being of George Glezmann and other Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan. We call for the immediate release of George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett, and Mahmoud Habibi. We raise their detentions regularly with the Taliban and will continue our efforts to secure their freedom until they are reunited with their families. We will not discuss the details of our engagement in public.”
Aleksandra Glezmann wrote a letter to President Joe Biden in July pleading for action on her husband’s behalf, per the WSJ.
“We are not wealthy or famous people,” she wrote in the letter to Biden, the WSJ reported. “I beseech you to intervene personally in George’s matter and do everything in your power to bring him home.”
Despite having reached out to White House staffers to clarify whether the two-page letter was ever placed on Biden’s desk, Aleksandra Glezmann has not received any confirmation on whether the president read it, according to the WSJ.
Taylor told the WSJ that he, Aleksandra and the family’s lawyer are not receiving specific information about efforts being made on George Glezzman’s behalf on a consistent basis. He added that he believes government officials are using “the old ‘classified’ card” to stonewall his questions, particularly those that may reveal possible bad decisions or incompetence.
The White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment from the DCNF.
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