An elderly British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan earlier this year have been released after months in custody.
Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, were detained by the Taliban’s interior ministry on 1 February before being moved to a maximum-security prison in Kabul in March. On Friday, they were freed and flown to Doha following mediation led by Qatar.
The Gulf state, which previously mediated talks between the United States and the Taliban ahead of the 2021 withdrawal, played a key role in securing their release.
Speaking to Sky News correspondent Cordelia Lynch at Kabul Airport, Peter Reynolds said: “We are just very thankful.” His wife added: “We’ve been treated very well. We’re looking forward to seeing our children. We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens.”
Asked if she had a message for friends and family, Mrs Reynolds replied: “My message is God is good, as they say in Afghanistan.”
The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and run Rebuild, an organisation providing education and training programmes. They first moved to the country in the 1960s and married in Kabul in 1970.
Their son Jonathan told Sky News in April that his parents had never faced any charges. He recalled that the British government offered to evacuate them during the Taliban takeover in 2021, but they refused, saying: “Why would we leave these people in their darkest hour?”
The Reynolds are now expected to return home to be reunited with their family.