Morgan McGarvey calls for release of Ryan Corbett, an American held by the Taliban
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey called for the release of Ryan Corbett, an American held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2022, and touted a bipartisan resolution introduced earlier this year advocating for the release.
McGarvey said he was not aware of the situation until Ryan Corbett's father, Drue Corbett, contacted his office earlier this year. McGarvey said the Taliban is recognized as a terrorist organization and that Ryan Corbett is being unlawfully detained.
"I personally called Drue and said, 'I can't imagine what you're going through as a father and as a dad myself, we're going to do everything we can to bring your son home'," McGarvey said at a press conference Wednesday.
Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York introduced the resolution in January which now has 67 bipartisan cosponsors including McGarvey and Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky.
Drue Corbett, who is from Louisville, said his son is being held with two other Americans in the same jail and that he has spoken with other people who were also detained but were released. He said Ryan Corbett is in a 9x9 cell without any windows and can go outside for 15 minutes once a month.
Drue Corbett said his son spent many years in Afghanistan and returned to the country on two different occasions after the American military withdrawal in 2021. The first time he was welcomed by members of the Taliban, but on his other trip in 2022, he was detained.
"If this was Mr. McGarvey's son, if this was Joe Biden's son, he would be out," Drue Corbett said. "So, whatever you have to do...that you would do for your own son, let's do for Ryan."
By: Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez
Source: Courier Journal