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Taliban Free Elderly British Couple After Eight Months in Detention

Qatar’s mediation secured their release, with health screening in Doha preceding a planned flight to London.

Overview

  • Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbara, 76, were released on September 19 and flown from Kabul to Doha, where they reunited with family.
  • Taliban officials offered no specific charges, saying only that the pair had violated Afghan laws and were freed following a judicial process.
  • Qatar negotiated the outcome over several months in coordination with the UK, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly thanked Doha and its emir.
  • The couple will undergo medical examinations in Qatar before traveling to the UK on a commercial flight scheduled for Saturday.
  • The longtime Afghanistan residents, who also hold Afghan citizenship, had drawn urgent appeals from UN experts in July over rapidly worsening health.