An elderly British couple gained their freedom this week, having been held captive for eight months.
Barbie Reynolds, aged 76, and her 80-year-old husband, Peter Reynolds, reached Qatar on Friday. Their release followed several months of talks involving Qatar, the Taliban, and Britain. They had resided in Afghanistan for 18 years, where they operated an education charity.
Even after their difficult experience, Barbie Reynolds expressed a desire to go back to Afghanistan, if possible. Both she and Peter hold Afghan citizenship.
“God is good, as is often said in Afghanistan,” she remarked at Kabul airport.
Upon their arrival in Doha, Qatar, on Friday, the couple, initially detained in February, were reunited with family members, including their daughter.
Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, visibly moved, told journalists in Qatar, “Thank you for returning our family to us.”
She further stated that their family would remain “eternally grateful to the Qatari and British governments for supporting us throughout this challenging period.”
“This ordeal has underscored the significance of diplomacy, empathy, and international collaboration,” she commented.
From the U.S., the couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, informed Sky News that their health would have begun to decline had their detention continued, even though Qatar had ensured they could see their doctor and receive medication while held.
UN health experts had also previously cautioned that the couple’s imprisonment carried risks of harm or even death.
The family had alleged mistreatment by the Taliban and pressed the authorities for clarification regarding the reasons for their detention.
Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s minister of state, expressed gratitude “for the productive cooperation” between the U.K. and the Taliban that led to the couple’s release.
The Taliban asserted that the couple had violated Afghan laws, though they did not elaborate.
Richard Lindsay, Britain’s special envoy to Afghanistan, stated, “We are extremely grateful that, at the very least, today marks a truly significant humanitarian day, as they will be rejoining their family,” further noting that it was “plainly for the [Afghanistan] authorities here to ascertain the reasons for their detention.”
He also added, “I wish to commend the crucial part played by Qatar, including its emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, in ensuring their liberation.”
The U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, which resulted in the Taliban regaining control.