‘We thought we would be executed’: Elderly British couple detained by Taliban say they feared for his or her lives in jail | EUROtoday
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An aged British couple who have been detained by the Taliban for eight months have stated they feared they’d be executed within the first interview since their launch.
Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, have been arrested and detained with out cost for practically eight months in Afghanistan whereas travelling to their residence in Bamyan province. They arrived again within the UK on Friday after they have been freed.
The couple, who had lived in Afghanistan for nearly twenty years whereas working an schooling firm, have been held in a most safety jail and endured lengthy intervals of separation.
“We had begun to think that we would never be released, or that we were even being held until we were executed,” Mr Reynolds instructed The Sunday Times.
The couple revealed that they have been held in solitary confinement collectively for the previous few months, so have been unaware that they have been being launched once they have been taken to Kabul airport.
“The last few months we have been together in solitary confinement, cut off from all awareness of what was going on in the world,” he stated.
Mrs Reynolds stated they’d been instructed “nothing” about their launch.
“Even when we were taken to Kabul airport we thought maybe we were just flying somewhere for medical treatment.”
Instead they have been placed on a Qatari plane and flown to Doha. Mr Reynolds stated that the worst second of the ordeal got here when the couple confronted a interval of separation whereas detailed, which means they spent their fifty fifth anniversary aside.
“Being led away and separated as a couple after 55 years of marriage to my best friend was the hardest thing. I pleaded to at least let me see her on our 55th wedding anniversary but they said no”, he stated.
Their son, Jonathan Reynolds, stated the household was “thrilled” and “overwhelmed with thankfulness” that the couple had been launched and returned to the UK.
In an announcement on Friday, the household stated: “We are overwhelmed with gratitude and relief to share that our parents, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, have been released after seven months and 21 days in detention by the Taliban.
“This is a moment of immense joy for our family, and we are deeply thankful to everyone who played a role in securing their release.”
The household stated they wished to increase their appreciation to the emir of Qatar for his management and compassion, and likewise thanked Mohammed Al Khulaifi and Mirdef Al Qashouti for his or her “tireless diplomatic efforts and unwavering support throughout this ordeal”.
The assertion stated: “Their dedication and humanity have made an unforgettable impact on our lives.
“We are also extremely grateful to the UK Government for its commitment and support to our family, including ensuring that our parents had access to essential medication during their detention and upon release.
“We further thank the US government for its support to the US members of our family, and to the UN special rapporteurs for their intervention and support.
“This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy, and international cooperation.
“While the road to recovery will be long as our parents regain their health and spend time with their family, today is a day of tremendous joy and relief.
“We are forever grateful to the Qataris for standing with us during this difficult time.
“Thank you for giving us our family back.”
There have been emotional scenes because the couple have been reunited with their daughter Sarah Entwistle, when the couple landed in Doha, Qatar, on Friday afternoon.
Speaking to Sky News from Kabul Airport on Friday, Mrs Reynolds stated when requested if the couple would return to Afghanistan once more sooner or later: “If we can, we are Afghan citizens.”
The Taliban have by no means defined what prompted the couple’s detention.
A spokesman on the Taliban authorities’s overseas ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, stated on X the couple had “violated Afghan law” and have been launched from jail on Friday after a courtroom listening to.
He didn’t say what regulation the couple have been accused of breaking.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/barbie-peter-reynolds-taliban-afghanistan-b2830494.html