Cross-examined British couple freed from Afghan custody, underlying reasons unveiled after lengthy confinement under disputed accusations by the Taliban.
In a relief to their family and supporters, British couple Peter and Barbie Reynolds have been released from detention in Afghanistan after being held for over seven months. The couple, aged 80 and 76 respectively, were handed over to Richard Lindsay, the U.K.'s special envoy for Afghanistan, on Friday.
The Taliban government's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, stated that Peter and Barbie Reynolds were released from prison on Friday after a court hearing. However, he did not specify the law they allegedly violated.
Qatar mediated the release of the Reynolds, with Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Qatar's minister of state at the Foreign Ministry, thanking the United Kingdom and Afghanistan's Taliban government for their cooperation in freeing the couple.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the couple's release and acknowledged the role of Qatar in securing their freedom. He expressed gratitude for the sincere efforts and mediation of Qatar in the Reynolds' case, echoing the sentiments of the couple's daughter, Entwistle, who expressed gratitude and relief to have her parents back after their detention by the Taliban.
The Reynolds had been living in Afghanistan for 18 years and ran an education and training organization in the country's central province of Bamiyan. Their family in the United Kingdom had repeatedly called for their release, stating they were being mistreated and held on undisclosed charges.
The Taliban's restrictions on women and personal freedoms have made Western nations hesitant to provide money to the Taliban government. This, coupled with the severe reduction in Western aid and the aftermath of a magnitude 6 quake on Aug. 31, has left Afghanistan's economy on shaky ground.
Earlier this month, the Taliban reached an agreement with U.S. envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalize relations. However, it remains unclear what, if anything, the Taliban had been promised for the Reynolds' release.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that he is working to reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, but this idea was dismissed by an official at the Taliban's Foreign Ministry.
The Reynolds left Afghanistan on Friday and had an emotional family reunion on the tarmac in Doha, Qatar. The couple's release comes after U.N. human rights experts had previously warned that their physical and mental health was deteriorating rapidly and they were at risk of irreparable harm or even death.
