Taliban releases elderly British couple from Afghanistan detention

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has released a British couple held for almost eight months on undisclosed charges.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbara, 76, were released from prison on Friday after a court hearing and handed over to the United Kingdom‘s special representative to the country, Richard Lindsay. The move followed negotiations led by Qatar.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on social media that the couple had been arrested in February for “violating” Afghan law, but did not say which legislation had been broken.

UK officials were quick to express relief and to thank the mediating country.

“I welcome the release of Peter and Barbara Reynolds from detention in Afghanistan, and I know this long-awaited news will come as a huge relief to them and their family,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “I want to pay tribute to the vital role played by Qatar.”

In a statement on Friday afternoon, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the couple had arrived in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and would depart for London later. It also expressed its appreciation for the “fruitful cooperation” between the Afghan and UK officials.

‘Looking forward to return’

United Nations human rights experts had called on the Taliban in July to free the pair, having warned of the “rapid deterioration” of their physical and mental health, and stating that they “risk irreparable harm or even death”.

Images of the couple standing together on Friday with the UK’s special representative to the country, Richard Lindsay, at Kabul airport before their departure to Doha were broadcast on British broadcaster Sky News.

“We’ve been treated very well. We’re looking forward to seeing our children,” said Barbara, adding: “We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can.”

The couple were married in Kabul in 1970 and have spent almost two decades living in Afghanistan’s central province of Bamiyan, running educational programmes. They also became Afghan citizens.

When the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 they remained in the country against the advice of British officials.

The Reynolds’ family in the UK had made repeated calls for the couple’s release, saying they were being mistreated and held on undisclosed charges.

Hamish Falconer, the UK’s minister for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in a statement that he was “relieved… their ordeal has come to an end,” noting that the government in London had “worked intensively since their detention and has supported the family throughout”.

The release comes after Washington’s special envoy on hostages, Adam Boehler, made a rare visit on Saturday to Kabul to discuss the possibility of a prisoner exchange.

At least one United States citizen, Mahmood Habibi, is held in Afghanistan.

Dozens of foreign nationals have been arrested since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of the US military.