British couple freed by Taliban hug daughter in emotional reunion

A British couple freed by the Taliban after being detained for almost eight months have emotionally reunited with their daughter, sharing hugs after touchdown in Qatar.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his spouse Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for almost twenty years, had been on their method residence after they had been stopped on 1 February.

The couple had been launched on Friday morning by way of Qatari mediation, and later landed in Doha the place they had been met by their daughter. After medical checks they are going to journey to the UK, regardless of their long-term residence being in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province.

The Taliban stated the pair had damaged Afghan legal guidelines and had been launched after judicial proceedings – however has by no means disclosed the rationale for his or her detention.

There have been emotional scenes in Doha because the couple’s daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her mother and father as they stepped off of the airplane. They shared lengthy hugs earlier than strolling collectively in the direction of the airport constructing.

Shortly after touchdown in Doha, Mrs Reynolds stated it was “great to be right here”. The couple had been additionally seen greeting Qatari and British representatives.

Earlier than her mother and father landed, Ms Entwistle instructed reporters she most lately spoke to them final Saturday and so they had been “prepared to come back residence”.

Earlier, the household stated they had been “overwhelmed with gratitude and aid” on the couple’s launch.

They stated it was “a second of immense pleasure”, including in an announcement that they had been “deeply grateful to everybody who performed a task in securing their launch”.

“Whereas the street to restoration shall be lengthy as our mother and father regain their well being and spend time with their household, immediately is a day of super pleasure and aid.”

The household paid explicit tribute to the “unwavering assist” of the Qatari mediators, in addition to the diplomatic efforts of the UK authorities and the assist of the US and the UN.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the previous 18 years working a charitable coaching programme that had been authorized by native Taliban officers when the armed group reclaimed energy in 2021.

They’ve been described by household as having a lifelong love of Afghanistan, typified by their determination to stay there after the authoritarian regime seized management in August 2021, when many different Westerners left.

Their launch follows months of public lobbying by their household, who’ve described the harrowing situations of their detention.

The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, stated in July that his father had been struggling critical convulsions and his mom was “numb” from anaemia and malnutrition.

“My dad was chained to murderers and criminals,” he stated on the time, including that they’d at one level been held in a basement for six weeks with out daylight.

Reacting to the information of their launch on Friday, Mr Reynolds instructed BBC Breakfast: “I can’t wait to place my arms round them and provides them a hug.”

Ms Entwistle beforehand stated her father had suffered a mini-stroke, whereas the UN warned that with out medical care the couple had been vulnerable to irreparable hurt.

Simply six days in the past, an American lady who was detained with them and subsequently launched instructed the BBC they’d been “actually dying” in jail and that “time is working out”.

Faye Corridor, who was let go two months into her detention, highlighted that the aged couple’s well being had deteriorated quickly whereas in jail.

A Qatari official instructed the BBC the couple had been moved from Kabul’s central jail to a bigger facility with higher situations in the course of the last stage of negotiations over their launch.

The official additionally stated the Qatari embassy in Kabul had offered them with remedy, entry to a health care provider and technique of speaking with their household whereas in jail.

Taliban officers maintained they obtained sufficient medical care in jail and their human rights had been revered.

The UK doesn’t recognise the Taliban authorities and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to energy.

The Overseas Workplace says assist for British nationals in Afghanistan is due to this fact “severely restricted” and advises in opposition to all journey to the nation.

A Taliban official stated Peter and Barbie Reynolds had been handed over to the UK’s Particular Envoy to Afghanistan, Richard Lindsay, who was pictured with the couple aboard their flight to Qatar.

The UK’s Center East minister Hamish Falconer stated he was relieved that the pair had now been freed, including: “I sit up for them being reunited with their household quickly.”

He stated the UK had “labored intensively” to safe their launch, whereas Qatar “performed a vital function on this case, for which I’m vastly grateful”.