British couple freed from Afghan detention after Qatar mediation

An elderly British couple detained in Afghanistan since February were released on Friday and flown to Doha after mediation led by Qatar, ending nearly eight months in Taliban custody, officials and family members said. Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, identified in reports as Barbara or Barbie and variously described as 75 or 76, were transferred from Kabul’s central prison and handed over to the United Kingdom’s special representative to Afghanistan before leaving the country, Qatari and British officials said.

The couple were arrested in February while travelling to their home in Bamyan province in central Afghanistan, where they had lived for almost two decades and ran an education and training organisation. Family members and rights advocates said the pair were held without charge, kept apart for long periods and detained in a maximum security facility, prompting repeated appeals for their release and warnings about their deteriorating health.

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said in a social media statement that the pair had violated Afghan law and were released after a court hearing, but it did not specify what law was allegedly broken. That account contrasts with family...