Home free

Drue Corbett told his fellow church members Wednesday night that his adult son was finally back in the United States after exactly 894 days in captivity. Ryan Corbett was on the ground in San Antonio and was receiving round-the-clock care, his dad said. While wondering at what his son has gone through, he gave thanks to God for his freedom.

The elder Corbett spoke this week during a service at Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. His remarks came two days after the U.S. government struck a deal with the Taliban to free his son. On Monday, the Taliban agreed to trade Corbett and American hostage William McKenty. In the exchange, U.S. officials reportedly agreed to release Khan Mohammed, a Taliban figure serving a life sentence in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

Backing up, why was Ryan Corbett in Afghanistan? He and his family moved from the United States to Afghanistan in 2010, where he supervised education and healthcare projects for non-governmental organizations, his family said in an earlier statement. In 2017, he launched Bloom Afghanistan, an organization designed to foster small business growth in the country. In 2021, Ryan and his family left and the U.S. military withdrew from the country. Then, in 2022, he returned to renew his business visa and check on the status of his organization. Drue says all of his documents were in order and Ryan was welcomed by Afghan officials, but during that visit, Ryan was arrested by the Taliban. His family suspects he was only arrested because of his value for political leverage.

What conditions did Ryan face during nearly 2½ years in captivity? His father told church members on Wednesday that for most of the time, Ryan had to share a 9-by-9-foot prison cell with four other male prisoners. For that time, was only allowed outdoors for a total of 20 minutes a month. Recently, Ryan’s treatment improved, Drue said. His captors placed him in a newer cell, fed him better, and allowed him to go outside twice a day.

What did he do during this time? The Corbett family is still in the process of learning about Ryan’s time in prison. He says Ryan was often heard singing hymns in the prison. He added that Ryan had composed dozens of poems and said he had ideas for three books in his head. Ryan was eventually given writing materials and had made progress on a manuscript, but the Taliban took those materials away from him upon his release. 

What is Ryan’s condition now? Drue provided WORLD with images of Ryan reuniting with his wife and three children shortly after his arrival in Texas. In the images, he appears to be smiling and in good health. Drue Corbett said Ryan is currently at a Texas military facility that specializes in rehabilitation for POWs, where he is receiving 24/7 care. He said his stay there may range from a few days to a few weeks, depending on Ryan’s condition. A friend of Drue’s who met with Ryan said the free man looked and sounded normal, with seemingly few ill effects from his captivity.

Drue believes that Ryan likely has trauma to overcome. But, on Wednesday, he glorified God for his son’s return.

“Ryan hasn’t had a Bible in two-and-a-half years,” he said. “He hasn’t had a cup of coffee in two-and-a-half years. But he knows Scripture really well. And I’m sure that he’s going to come out of here a different and even a better man than we ever, ever realized.”

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s report about the first three Israeli hostages released by Hamas under a new ceasefire.

Ryan Corbett reunited with his family Image provided by Drue Corbett. Used with permission.

Ryan Corbett prays with his family. Image provided by Drue Corbett. Used with permission.

Ryan Corbett reunites with his wife. Image provided by Drue Corbett. Used with permission.