Twenty-two minutes.
Anna Corbett has spoken to her husband, Ryan, and the father of their three children, for a total of 22 minutes during three separate phone calls over the last nearly 18 months since he was detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
Anna just took her eighth trip to Washington, D.C., last week, where she met with lawmakers of both parties; Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“I’m not going to stop fighting and showing up asking for meetings and advocating for Ryan’s release,” Anna told the Washington Examiner. “I miss him so much and just can’t wait to have him back.”
The Corbetts moved to Afghanistan in 2010, and Ryan Corbett started a business consulting and microfinance company in 2017. They ultimately evacuated Afghanistan as the Taliban took over in August 2021 as U.S. troops were leaving for good. Ryan first returned to Afghanistan in January 2022 to help his business that was still running and was able to come back to the U.S. without issue, but he was detained when he went back in August of that year.
The State Department has determined that Corbett is being wrongfully detained, which is a legal definition that puts his case under the purview of the special presidential envoy, according to a spokesperson.
“U.S. officials have continuously pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of Americans detained in Afghanistan, including Ryan Corbett. We have raised this directly with Taliban representatives, noting that these detentions are a significant obstacle to positive engagement,” the spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West met with a Taliban representative while he attended the Doha Forum in December. American detainee releases were central to the discussion.”
Anna said she knows the administration is “working hard,” but added, “It’s really difficult from where I sit to evaluate progress because there’s no progress until Ryan is actually home with his family.”
Since Ryan was detained nearly 18 months ago, he has been able to call Anna three times for a total of 22 minutes. The most recent phone call between them occurred on Christmas Day, and the middle conversation took place weeks earlier. Their first call took place in May 2023.
“So he calls my cellphone directly and he’s on the line. And it’s extremely emotional. It’s so difficult because, you know, I’ve been married almost 20 years, we’re really close. And so just to suddenly have him on the line but also know that he’s being listened to and I need to communicate encouragement and important aspects, like I told him last time that I have spoken publicly, that I was going to [Washington] D.C., I wanted to make sure he knew I was working on this. But it’s extremely emotional and then just feel way worse after the call.”
A White House official told the Washington Examiner, “We continue to pursue every lead to bring Ryan Corbett home. The National Security Advisor spent about an hour with Ryan’s wife last week. Previous meetings have been held with other Administration officials as well. In every engagement, U.S. officials have articulated our commitment to getting Ryan home. As you know we have had small successes like monthly calls home and a recent welfare check.”
The Qatari government has been involved in the negotiations for his return. On Christmas Day, the most recent time Anna and Ryan have spoken, she also received a photo of him from the Qataris.
Anna said her husband looks unwell based on the photo. She estimated that he’s lost around 50 pounds and she’s concerned he could contract pneumonia, a disease he’s prone to, due to the cold conditions he’s being kept in and that he’s sought but not received medical attention.
The Corbetts congressional representative is Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY). The New York Republican introduced a House resolution calling on the Taliban to improve his conditions and treatment and to ultimately release him. The resolution has 25 co-sponsors.
Anna Corbett described the bipartisan support for the resolution as “very encouraging,” adding, “I’m just super grateful for my congresswoman.”
“We also spoke with [Senate Majority] Leader [Chuck] Schumer’s staff, had a really good conversation there. Leader Schumer had reached out to Jake Sullivan regarding the meeting, and had expressed to him how important it was to prioritize that meeting. And so yeah, Sen. [Kirsten] Gillibrand and Sen. Schumer’s offices just have been amazing champions for us,” Anna Corbett explained. She also visited with Sen. Chris Coons’s (D-DE) staff and Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) as well.
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Tenney announced that she intends to bring Anna Corbett to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in March, and both expressed hope that Ryan could join them as well.
Anna and Ryan Corbett are set to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in late February, while Ryan wished her a premature happy anniversary when they spoke in December.
