US EditionUN Experts Urge Release of Elderly British Couple Detained in Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN, JUL 22 – The elderly British couple has been held without charge for over five months with rapidly worsening health, prompting urgent appeals from United Nations experts and family members.
- Peter and Barbie Reynolds, an elderly British couple, have been detained by the Taliban's intelligence agency in Kabul since February 1, 2025.
- The couple was arrested without formal charges amid a Taliban crackdown and has been held in harsh conditions, with growing concerns about their fragile health.
- They have spent over five months in detention, initially in maximum-security and underground cells without sunlight, before a recent transfer to above-ground detention.
- UN experts and their children have urged the Taliban to release them urgently, warning their health is deteriorating rapidly due to anemia, heart issues, and lack of medical care.
- The detention highlights broader human rights concerns in Afghanistan and pressures the UK government for action while the couple’s survival remains at risk without immediate medical evacuation.
20 Articles
20 Articles
UN experts demand release of elderly British couple held in Afghanistan
UN human rights experts Monday demanded the Taliban release a British couple who have been reportedly arbitrarily detained in Afghanistan since February. Experts criticized the couple’s lacking access to effective legal assistance and medical care, severed communication with family member, deprivation of liberty without due process. They stressed the severity of the situation, stating: We see no reason why this older couple should be detained at…
Son of British couple imprisoned by Taliban says his parents ‘need out now’
Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February. The son of an elderly couple imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan almost six months ago has said they “need out now” as their health is “deteriorating fast”. Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in F…
UN Experts Urge Release of Elderly British Couple Detained in Afghanistan
UN Experts Urge Release of Elderly British Couple Detained in Afghanistan A group of United Nations human rights experts has issued an urgent appeal for the immediate release and medical evacuation of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, two elderly British nationals detained in Afghanistan since February 2025. The couple has been held without charge or trial, and reports indicate their health is rapidly deteriorating due to harsh detention conditions, in…
British nationals, who had been imprisoned in Kabul for five months without any official reason, also had local nationality and had run education programmes in Afghanistan since 2009. In the absence of medical care, their state of health is worsening and they are suffering from a lack of...
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