An elderly British couple held in Afghanistan was released by the interim Taliban administration on Friday after mediation from Qatar.
Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said that Barbie Reynolds, 76, and Peter Reynolds, 80, had violated Afghan laws and “were released from prison today after a judicial process.”
The couple were detained early this year, in February, while they were returning to their home in Bamiyan province.
Balkhi stressed the issue of prisoners should not be politicised and thanked Qatar for its “sincere efforts and facilitation of the mediation.”
The interim administration handed the British nationals to Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan, who was accompanied by a Qatari delegation.
Separately, Qatar announced that it has facilitated the release of the two British citizens.
In a statement, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi expressed appreciation for the “cooperation shown by both Afghanistan’s caretaker government and the United Kingdom.”
He highlighted Qatar’s “ongoing efforts to encourage direct dialogue and its firm belief in multilateral cooperation to uphold human dignity and protect human rights,” according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA).
