June 11, 2024.
Whereas United States citizen Ryan Corbett has lived a life of service, by supporting humanitarian projects in Afghanistan by helping the Afghan people start and operate small businesses;
Whereas Ryan Corbett moved his family to Afghanistan in 2010 to help the local population and lived there for over a decade aiding the local Afghan population;
Whereas in 2017, Ryan Corbett founded “Bloom Afghanistan” to provide consulting and microloans to Afghan small businesses to help build a self-sustaining local economy of Afghan small businesses;
Whereas Ryan Corbett is known to his family, friends, colleagues, and associates as a loving father, as well as a kind, service-oriented man;
Whereas Ryan Corbett was forced to leave his life, community, and Afghan partners behind during the August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the ensuing evacuation of American citizens;
Whereas in August 2022, Ryan Corbett traveled to Afghanistan for a 10-day trip to check in on his business and employees and was detained by the Taliban;
Whereas the Taliban detained Ryan Corbett without being charged with a crime or granting him due process in any judicial proceedings;
Whereas, on October 10, 2023, Ryan Corbett was designated as wrongfully detained by the Department of State;
Whereas Ryan Corbett is being held in a 9-foot by 9-foot cell with two other detainees, and has been held in solitary confinement for months at a time;
Whereas the Taliban has not granted Ryan Corbett any consular visits by Department of State personnel;
Whereas during his detention, Ryan Corbett has only had 3 phone calls totaling 22 minutes with his family, and has only had 2 in-person visits with representatives of the United States protecting power in Afghanistan, Qatar;
Whereas three non-American individuals previously detained with Ryan Corbett have been released and have reported on Ryan’s conditions;
Whereas Ryan Corbett’s former cellmates stated that prisoners at that facility must survive on scraps of fatty meat, only have access to sunlight once a month, and cannot use the bathroom without permission;
Whereas Ryan Corbett’s former cellmates stated that during their captivity, Ryan Corbett was suffering from seizures, fainting, and discolored extremities; and
Whereas Ryan Corbett turned 40 years old during his wrongful detention, and his physical and mental health is rapidly declining due to the stress and harsh conditions, such that his family fears he will not survive his wrongful detention: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
(1) calls on the Taliban to immediately and unconditionally release Ryan Corbett and all other American detainees;
(2) urges the Taliban to respect Ryan Corbett’s human rights and to provide full, unfettered, and consistent health and safety visits to Ryan Corbett while in detention;
(3) encourages the Government of Qatar, as the protecting power of the United States in Afghanistan, to continue in its efforts to conduct basic health and wellness checks on Ryan Corbett, thanks Qatar for its efforts thus far, and encourages Qatar to be involved in securing the release of Ryan Corbett;
(4) urges all United States executive branch officials to continue to raise the case of Ryan Corbett and to press for his immediate release in all interactions with the Taliban;
(5) condemns the Taliban’s practice of hostage taking and demands the Taliban to stop detaining United States citizens for political gain;
(6) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with the families of all other citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States wrongfully detained abroad; and
(7) expresses support for the family of Ryan Corbett and a commitment to bringing Ryan Corbett home.
Attest:
Clerk.