Atlanta man abducted by Taliban was reportedly beaten, told to renounce faith

But Glezmann said his faith never wavered.

Glezmann, who is in his 60s, had visited more than 130 countries before the tourist decided to travel by ground into Afghanistan through Pakistan. He had just begun to explore the streets of Kabul when he said he was taken and beaten by the Taliban in December 2022.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Glezmann said he was dragged to the side of the street and then cuffed. The following year, he was designated by the United States as wrongfully detained, The Associated Press reported.

“The first thing that we human beings do when we feel trouble is to pray to God,” he told Channel 2.

Glezmann said he doesn’t know if the Taliban would have made good on promises to free him if he abandoned his Catholic faith.

While in captivity, he said the Taliban would come in “as often as they could,” sometimes kicking and slapping him or throwing cold water during the harsh winter months, according to the news station. If they caught him praying, he said his captors would advise him on the right way to do so.

Glezmann spent three Christmases in captivity and wasn’t allowed to shave his massive white beard, which at one point reached his chest. The Taliban deemed cutting it a sin, he said.

As the emotional and physical toll grew, Glezmann sometimes questioned why he was still alive, Channel 2 reported. That uncertainty intensified after his cellmate Ryan Corbett, a fellow American detained by the Taliban, was released near the end of President Joe Biden’s administration.

But Glezmann received some much-needed help from Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration. Boehler met with a delegation that included Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi to arrange his release.

At that moment, Glezmann said he felt like a kid who got lost in a crowded shopping center before finally being embraced by a parent who found them.

“You feel home again,” he said.

During his captivity, his captors eventually allowed medical visits and phone calls to his wife, Aleksandra. Then, months before he was released, he finally was allowed to shave the beard.

Qatari negotiators helped broker the deal, and Boehler accompanied Glezmann back to the U.S., the State Department announced in March.

Credit: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP

Credit: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP

Unlike others who had been freed, the U.S. did not give up any prisoners to secure Glezmann’s release.

Despite the grueling ordeal, he said he will continue to travel around the world and plans to get back to work at Hartsfield-Jackson. The only caveat: He won’t venture to dangerous places like Afghanistan again.