The Trump administration said Tuesday that Afghanistan has released an American who had been detained in the Middle East for over a year, with the release coming shortly after the end of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler told Fox News that 64-year-old Dennis Coyle, an American academic who has been spent nearly two decades working in Afghanistan, was taken as political leverage though having committed no crime.

"The United States welcomes the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle, who was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan for more than a year," Boehler said. "President Trump made clear: the United States will not tolerate the unjust detention of its citizens — anywhere. His personal determination — executed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a fully aligned interagency team — has driven a shift to accountability, pressure and results."

Coyle, who was taken by the Taliban in Kabul last year, was working legally in Afghanistan to support language communities as an academic researcher, according to his family.

The release comes after Rubio designated Afghanistan as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," earlier this month and called for the release of Americans who have been detained unjustly.

"The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy," Rubio told Fox News. "President Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas – Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office."

Afghanistan has denied that it unjustly holds Americans as political leverage, insisting that it detains those who have committed crimes, according to NBC News. 

The Trump administration has helped release over 100 wrongfully detained Americans and 176 people altogether.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.