Afghanistan: British couple arrested by Taliban

A British couple in their 70s, who have lived in Afghanistan for a long time, were arrested by the Taliban in early February. On Monday 24 February, their daughter called on the British government to do "everything in its power" to secure their release.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who had been running a training organisation in the country since 2009, were arrested on February 1 as they returned home to Bamiyan province west of Kabul, according to the Sunday Times.

"We initially chose not to involve the British consulate, in the hope that the Taliban would explain to us directly why they had arrested our parents," their daughter Sarah Entwistle told Times Radio.

"But after more than three weeks of silence, we can wait no longer. We are now urgently calling on the British Consulate to do everything in its power to get answers and put as much pressure as possible on the Taliban for their release," she added.

Together with her three brothers, she wrote an open letter to the Taliban authorities to demand the release of their parents, who also have Afghan nationality.

"We do not understand the reasons for this arrest," they said, adding that their parents "have constantly expressed their commitment to Afghanistan."

The couple had decided to stay in the country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Their arrest is believed to be linked to one of their parenting training courses for mothers over 30, according to the Sunday Times.

Contacted, the Taliban authorities and the British Foreign Office declined to comment. London does not recognize the Taliban regime and no longer has an embassy in Kabul.

Since their return to power, the Taliban have enacted several laws inspired by their ultra-rigorous vision of Islam that have progressively excluded women from the public sphere. They are not allowed to attend secondary school or university, and are excluded from certain jobs.

The two Britons are not the first foreigners arrested by the Taliban authorities. A former Canadian soldier, David Lavery, was released in late January after more than two months of captivity, as part of a deal brokered by Qatar.

A week earlier, two Americans held by the Taliban, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, were released in exchange for Afghan fighter Khan Mohammed, convicted of narco-terrorism in the United States. Two other Americans, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, remain in custody in the country.