It’s Time To Put Taliban on Notice and Bring Ryan Corbett Home
‘For 607 days, Ryan has been confined to a nine-by-nine basement cell, with scraps for food, little to no sunlight, and intermittent contact with his family. After nearly two years of wrongful detention, his hopes of ever returning to America are dimming.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding an American citizen detained by the Taliban:
“The disastrous consequences of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan were both foreseeable and foreseen. And as Taliban rule terrorizes the region and brutalizes the Afghan people, it’s also inflicted terrible pain on American families.
“I have worked closely with the family of Ryan Corbett, an American citizen detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
“For over a decade prior to the fall of Kabul, Ryan and his family lived amongst the Afghan people, where they served the community and ran a business focused on providing Afghans with education and training to start their own businesses. As the Taliban returned to power, the Corbett family was forced to flee.
“But Ryan made the difficult decision to return, hoping to pay his staff and keep his business afloat. And on August 10, 2022, the Taliban detained him without charge.
“For 607 days, Ryan has been confined to a nine-by-nine basement cell, with scraps for food, little to no sunlight, and intermittent contact with his family. After nearly two years of wrongful detention, his hopes of ever returning to America are dimming.
“Earlier this afternoon, I had a chance to meet with Ryan’s wife, Anna, their three teenage children, and his parents Drue and Evelyn from Louisville. Now more than ever, they fear for Ryan’s life.
“Today, the Democratic Leader and I have introduced a resolution calling for Ryan’s immediate release.
“It reaffirms America’s commitment to freeing Ryan and raises the international stakes of the Taliban’s wrongful detention of American citizens.
“Unfortunately, while Ryan languishes in captivity, the Biden Administration sends a different message to his captors. Since his detention, the U.S. government has sent roughly $1 billion in aid to a country in the tight grip of a medieval theocratic regime.
“It’s time to put the Taliban’s violent rule on notice. It’s time to show our enemies that the United States will not let American citizens be used as bargaining chips. It’s time to bring Ryan Corbett home.”
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