British Couple Freed from Taliban Detention Arrives Back in the UK

Fri Sep 26 2025 14:27:35 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Peter and Barbie Reynolds, detained in Afghanistan for nearly eight months, return home, expressing hope to continue their work in the country.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds, an 80 and 76-year-old British couple, were released after nearly eight months in Taliban detention in Afghanistan. The couple, who have long ties to Afghanistan and were involved in charitable work, returned to the UK from Doha with strong intentions to continue their efforts in education and training within Afghanistan. Their son expressed gratitude to everyone involved in facilitating their release and highlighted the couple's dedication to the Afghan people even amidst their harrowing experience.

A British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight months have arrived back in the UK after being released.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, landed at Heathrow Airport, on a flight from Doha.

They were reunited with their daughter in Qatar on Friday. Their son Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was ecstatic and massively grateful to those who were involved in securing their release.

The Taliban, who detained the couple on 1 February, said the pair had broken Afghan laws and were released after judicial proceedings - but the Islamist group has never disclosed a reason for their detention.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years running a charitable training programme that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group reclaimed power in 2021.

There were emotional scenes on Friday as the couple's daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her parents as they stepped off the plane in Doha.

We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens, Barbie told Agence France-Presse at Kabul airport after Qatar-brokered negotiations for their release.

Their son Jonathan echoed those hopes, saying their desire would be to carry on living there and to do the work they were doing.

Since 2009 the couple have been running training projects in Kabul and Bamiyan.

One of their education projects involved training women and children, and had apparently been approved by local authorities, despite a Taliban ban on women working and education for girls over 12-years-old.

The couple's release follows months of public lobbying by their family, who have described the harrowing conditions of their detention.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the vital role played by Qatar in securing their release.

The couple received medical checks in Doha before leaving for London. Taliban officials maintained they received adequate medical care during their detention and that their human rights were respected.

The UK does not recognise the Taliban government and closed its embassy in Kabul when the group returned to power.

The Foreign Office says support for British nationals in Afghanistan is therefore severely limited and advises against all travel to the country.