[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 965 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 965
Calling for the immediate release of Ryan Corbett, a United States
citizen, who was wrongfully detained by the Taliban on August 10, 2022,
and condemning the wrongful detention of Americans by the Taliban.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 16, 2024
Ms. Tenney (for herself, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Hill, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Ryan,
Ms. Titus, Mr. Langworthy, Mr. D'Esposito, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Morelle, Ms.
Malliotakis, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. McCaul, Mr.
Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Costa, Mr. Waltz, Mr. Goldman of New
York, Mr. Williams of New York, Mr. Garbarino, Mr. Molinaro, Mr. Tony
Gonzales of Texas, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr.
Newhouse, and Mr. Stauber) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
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RESOLUTION
Calling for the immediate release of Ryan Corbett, a United States
citizen, who was wrongfully detained by the Taliban on August 10, 2022,
and condemning the wrongful detention of Americans by the Taliban.
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, That the House of Representatives--
(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.
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