Taliban said Friday they have released a British couple who had been imprisoned in Afghanistan since February.
Peter and Barbie Reynolds, ages 79 and 75, were detained in Bamiyan province earlier this year.
According to The Guardian, the couple had lived and worked in Afghanistan for 18 years, mainly in the field of education. Concerns about their health had been raised during their detention.
In a statement, the Taliban said the pair had “violated Afghan laws” but were freed after a judicial process.
The statement added that the Taliban do not view cases involving foreign nationals “through a political or transactional lens” and called for consular services for citizens abroad — including Afghans — to be guaranteed without political considerations.
Taliban also thanked Qatar for what they described as its “mediation and facilitation efforts.” The couple were handed over to Richard Lindsay, the United Kingdom’s special envoy for Afghanistan, the statement said.
