They are everywhere, not just in Vladimir Putin’s archipelago of prison camps, but held by brutal regimes around the world for purely political reasons. And so this weekly column is being renamed.

Welcome to “The World’s Hostages – Bring Them Home.”

Sadly, this change was inspired by news of yet another American, 64-year-old Dennis Coyle of Colorado, who has spent the last year in a basement room in Afghanistan, under the watchful eye of the Taliban.

For nearly 20 years he had been conducting academic research and assisting the Afghan community, when he was forcibly taken from his apartment in January of 2025 by Taliban forces. It was nine months before his family in the United States learned that he was alive.

From the occasional phone calls that he is permitted to make, his mother and three sisters have grown increasingly concerned for his mental health due to his prolonged isolation. In the words of one of his sisters, Molly Long:

“With each phone call that we get from him, we get more and more desperate to get him home.” [Damita Menezes, Chris Cuomo, News Nation, January 15, 2026.]

He has been declared by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained, which prioritizes official efforts for his release. Ms. Long said that the family has been assured by administration officials, including Dr. Sebastian Gorka and U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, that Coyle’s release is a top priority.

But . . .

Why, then, during an interview with News Nation on January 21st, did Donald Trump not even know who Dennis Coyle is?

When host Katie Pavlich spoke about Trump’s efforts on behalf of various hostages, and asked about a U.S. citizen who was reportedly being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he said:

“Well, if you give me the name” . . . despite the fact that she had just told him. She repeated, “Dennis Coyle,” and he responded, “Well, if you give me some information, I’ll take care of that.” [Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, January 21, 2026.]

The exchange continued:

Pavlich: “I know that your administration is working on it . . .”

Trump: “I know they are. But I could do some things on the internet that are pretty impactful.”

Pavlich then asked if Trump had a message for the Taliban about Coyle, who had been taken “for no crime,” to which he replied:

Trump: “Well, I’m not happy about them holding anybody. And especially if he’s not guilty of anything. And it sounds like— from what I’ve heard, and again I’m not that familiar with it like you are, but I will certainly take a very strong position on it.” [Id.]

Well, that will certainly be reassuring to Dennis Coyle and his family: Trump will jump onto the internet — presumably his Truth Social platform — and take a “very strong position.” Whoopee!

*. *. *

I certainly hope that the people actually negotiating on behalf of Dennis Coyle and all of the other hostages being held on specious charges are more aware of what is going on than Trump appears to be. And as a further reminder to them, here again is my list — admittedly incomplete — of their names and locations:

Victims of Greed:

The President, First Lady, and citizens of Venezuela

Europeans Under Threat:

The Nation and the People of Greenland
The people of NATO and EU member states

Prisoners of War:

The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Dennis Coyle (American)

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In China:

Chenyue Mao (American)

In Russia:

The “Crimea 8”:
— Oleg Antipov
— Artyom Azatyan
— Georgy Azatyan
— Aleksandr Bylin
— Roman Solomko
— Artur Terchanyan
— Dmitry Tyazhelykh
— Vladimir Zloba

James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You will not be forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/25/26