A British couple owned for months by Taliban released from prison

A British couple who was detained for almost eight months by the Taliban in Afghanistan was released.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who have lived in the country for almost two decades, were on the way back when they were arrested on February 1.

The couple was released by Qatari mediation. A Qatari official said they would go to Qatar for medical checks before going to the United Kingdom, despite a long-term house in Bamiyan province in Afghanistan.

The Taliban said that the pair had violated Afghan laws and had been released after legal proceedings – but never revealed the reason for their detention.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds were married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the last 18 years leading a charitable training program that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group recovered power in 2021.

They were described by the family as having a life for life of Afghanistan, characterized by their decision to stay there after the authoritarian regime took control in August 2021, when many other Westerners left.

Their release follows months of public lobbying by their families, who described the heartbreaking conditions for their detention.

The couple’s son Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC in July that his father had suffered a serious convulsion and that his mother was “numb” for anemia and malnutrition.

“My father was chained to murderers and criminals,” he said at the time, adding that they had been detained at some point in a basement for six weeks without sun.

The daughter of their couple, Sarah Entwistle, previously said that her father had undergone a mini-coup, while the UN warned that without medical care, the couple risked irreparable damage.

Barely six days ago, an American woman who was detained with them and later told the BBC that they were “literally dying” in prison and that “time is exhausted”.

Faye Hall, who was released two months after her detention, stressed that the health of the elderly had deteriorated quickly in prison.

Taliban officials argued that they had received adequate medical care in prison and their human rights were respected.

The United Kingdom does not recognize the Taliban government and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that support for British nationals in Afghanistan is therefore “severely limited” and advises all trips to the country.

A Taliban official said Peter and Barbie Reynolds had been given to the United Kingdom’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Peter Reynolds, who was represented with the couple on board their flight to Qatar.