GENEVA (Reuters) – The Taliban must provide immediate medical care to Ryan Corbett, an American held in Afghanistan for almost two years, to prevent irreparable damage to his health or even his death, a United Nations expert said on Thursday.
“The Taliban must provide Ryan Corbett with immediate medical treatment at a civilian hospital,” said Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Corbett, an aid worker, has been held without charge in conditions “wholly inadequate and significantly below international standards”, she said.
“This is having a significant impact on his physical and mental health, which is rapidly deteriorating,” Edwards added. She said she had raised the issue directly with the Taliban.
“Without adequate medical care, he is at risk of irreversible harm or even death,” she said.
Corbett and his family moved to Afghanistan in 2010. He worked with non-governmental organizations and then started his own organization – Bloom Afghanistan – to strengthen the country’s private sector through consultancy, microfinance and project evaluation.
He left with his family after the Taliban takeover in 2021, but he continued to work with his organization and returned in January 2022 to renew his business visa.
Despite having a valid visa, he was arrested by the Taliban in August 2022 after returning to pay and train his staff, his lawyers say. A German and two Afghans with whom Corbett was arrested have now been released.
The UN expert said Corbett has developed several medical problems, including tinnitus and severe weight loss. He has also repeatedly expressed his intentions to commit suicide and self-harm.
The United States has had no diplomatic presence in Kabul since it fell to the Taliban in August 2021 as American troops withdrew after two decades of war.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Ros Russell)
