Major update as British couple held by Taliban finally freed after 7 months of hell | World | News

An elderly British couple who had been detained by the Taliban in February have finally been freed. Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, have been safely released from detention in Afghanistan following Qatar-led mediation.

The couple were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, Afghanistan. They were held without charge and, over the past several months, had mainly been held separately and detained in a maximum security prison. Communications had also been cut off with family, and medication had been denied. After the release, Mrs Reynolds said before embarking on a plane for Britain: “We’ve been treated very well.” She added she was looking forward to seeing family again.

Their four adult children had issued several urgent pleas to the Taliban to release their parents before it was too late, fearing they would die in custody. The Taliban rejected the family’s allegations of abuse but never explained what prompted their detention.

Mr and Mrs Reynolds were released on Friday and flown to Doha, according to Sky News. UK Special Envoy to Afghanistan Richard Lindsay told the broadcaster the couple felt very relieved to be going home and delighted to be reunited with family.

Mr Lindsay said the UK Government was “incredibly grateful” to Qatar and today was a “great humanitarian day”. Asked why the Reynolds were detained, the UK envoy said he wasn’t clear as to the grounds for their arrest. On the couple’s health, Mr Lindsay said he wasn’t a doctor, but they were both “very happy”.

A spokesperson at the Taliban government’s Foreign Ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, claimed on X the couple had “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison after a court hearing. His statement did not say what law the couple were alleged to have broken.

Mr Balkhi thanked Qatar for its “sincere efforts and mediation” regarding the couple, who he said were handed over to Mr Lindsay.

The Reynolds, who have dual UK-Afghanistan citizenship, ran school training programmes in Afghanistan for 18 years, remaining after the Taliban re-seized power in 2021. At the time of their arrests, they were teaching mothers parenting skills.

Their case underlined concerns in the West over the actions of the Taliban since they overthrew the country’s US-backed government in a lightning offensive in 2021.

United Nations human rights experts warned in July that the couple’s physical and mental health was deteriorating rapidly and they were at risk of irreparable harm or even death.

Their son, Jonathan, said that same month that the situation had been “pretty frustrating” after the family made multiple appeals to the Taliban to release their loved ones.

He said the UK Government had offered to take the Reynolds out of Afghanistan after the Taliban re-seized power, but they asked why they would leave as Afghans faced their “darkest hour”. Mr and Mrs Reynolds met in the 1960s and married in Kabul in 1970.

The Foreign Office advises Brits not to travel to Afghanistan.

Following the release, Hamish Falconer, Minister for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in a statement: “I am relieved to hear that Peter and Barbie Reynolds are no longer detained in Afghanistan and their ordeal has come to an end. I look forward to them being reunited with their family soon.The UK has worked intensively since their detention and has supported the family throughout.

“The State of Qatar played an essential role in this case, for which I am hugely grateful. Qatar continues to play a critical role in conflict mediation in the Middle East and beyond. The Government’s ability to help those in need of consular support in Afghanistan is extremely limited. Our travel advice is clear that individuals should not travel to Afghanistan.”