Cliff Notes
- Barbie and Peter Reynolds, an elderly British couple, have returned to the UK after being detained in a Taliban prison for over two months without charge.
- The couple were released by the Taliban following a court hearing, which cited a violation of Afghan law without specifying the exact legal infraction.
- They have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, where they run an organisation focused on education and training, and expressed a desire to return to the country in the future.
Elderly British couple who were detained by Taliban arrive in UK | UK News
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An elderly British couple who were detained in a maximum security Taliban prison have arrived in the UK.
Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, landed at Heathrow Airport on Saturday.
The couple were detained by the Taliban’s interior ministry on 1 February as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan.
They had been held without charge before being released from detention on Friday and flown to Qatar, where they were reunited with their daughter.
Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy to Afghanistan, previously told Sky News it was “unclear” on what grounds the couple had been detained.
The UK government advises British nationals not to travel to Afghanistan.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson at the Taliban government’s foreign ministry, said in a statement posted on X that the couple “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison after a court hearing.
He did not say what law the couple were alleged to have broken.
Sky correspondent Cordelia Lynch was at Kabul Airport as the freed couple arrived and departed.
Mr Reynolds told her: “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.”
The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and run an organisation called Rebuild, which provides education and training programmes.
They have been together since the 1960s and married in the Afghan capital in 1970.