5 hours ago
7
The life of a 79-year-old British man imprisoned along with his wife by the Taliban is in serious danger, his family have warned.
Peter Reynolds and his wife, Barbie, 75, who run a training business in Afghanistan, were detained last month when they travelled to their home in Bamiyan province.
Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, said her father’s health had “significantly deteriorated” after the couple were separated and moved to a high-security prison.
“We hear he now has a chest infection, a double eye infection and serious digestive issues due to poor nutrition,” she said.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Entwistle said: “Without immediate access to necessary medication, his life is in serious danger.” He requires pills for his heart after he had a mini-stroke before he was detained.
Entwistle said the family had been told that Reynolds was in immense pain after being “beaten and shackled”.
In a direct plea to her parents’ captors, she added: “Our desperate appeal to the Taliban is that they release them to their home, where they have the medication he needs to survive.
“We believe this request should be viewed not merely as a plea, but as a unique opportunity to demonstrate an unforgettable act of kindness that will resonate around the world.”
The couple’s business, Rebuild, has run projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years and continued after the Taliban regained power in 2021. Barbie previously became the first woman to receive a certificate of appreciation from the Taliban.
The pair were arrested on 1 February with an American-Chinese friend, Faye Hall, who had rented a plane to travel with them, and a translator from Rebuild.
The reason for their detention remains unclear. Entwistle suspects it was because they were teaching mothers with children.
A Rebuild employee said last month the group was told that their flight “did not co-ordinate with the local government”, adding that the three had been imprisoned in Kabul.
In a statement reported by the BBC in February, the Taliban official Abdul Mateen Qani said: “A series of considerations is being taken into account and, after evaluation, we will endeavour to release them as soon as possible.”
Qani added that the three foreign nationals had Afghan passports and national ID cards.
The couple, who originally met at the University of Bath, married in Kabul in 1970. It is understood the couple’s family did not want the UK government to get involved with the case.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan.”
