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 February.
They have been held for five-and-a-half months without charge and, up until eight weeks ago, had been separated and detained in a maximum security prison.
Their four adult children, who live in the US and UK, said they had written privately to the Taliban leadership twice and made public appeals for the release of their parents, who have run school training programmes for 18 years in the country, remaining after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Jonathan Reynolds said the last phone call the family had from the couple was on June 15, and in the last week officials from the UK Foreign Office saw them.
But Mr Reynolds said generally, it has been “pretty frustrating”.
He said he understands the Foreign Office is “working very very hard”, but added “yet my parents are still in there”.
He said: “To be able to sit in the same room as them and have that kind of communication and not be able to walk out with them, is very frustrating.
“It’s horrific that they’re still held in captivity without, to our understanding, for a period of time without any natural sunlight and not even allowed outside. So their health in so many areas is deteriorating, and it’s deteriorating fast.”
He added that they are “not in good health” and “they need out, and they need out now”.
According to a remote medical assessment conducted by a cardiologist, their father may have suffered a stroke or a silent heart attack, the siblings said previously.
They added that their father was suffering from a red, peeling, bleeding face, which could mean his skin cancer had returned.
Their mother continued to struggle with numbness in her feet, which was linked to anaemia, possibly from insufficient food in the maximum security prison, her children said, while a medical assessment noted that this created additional strain which could lead to heart failure.
The couple, who celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary recently, were held up until eight weeks ago at the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the capital, Kabul, their children said.
They were then transferred to the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), with the promise of release within two to three days, they said.
But two further months have passed, with no sign of release.
While in Pul-e-Charkhi prison, the couple were said to have had access to phones and called their children every day from the prison yard.
The children said their parents had better conditions at the GDI but still had no bed or furniture and slept on a mattress on the floor.
Their son said that since May 18 they have been held for “weeks on end in a basement cell with no natural light”.
He said any communication the siblings have had has been “they’ll be released in two to three days”.
Mr Reynolds said the big question is who has the authority to release them.
He added: “I don’t understand why an 80-year-old and a 76-year-old in failing health are being held without reason, without cause, without charges…
“We just want them home… we want to get them out of that country.”
The family’s focus is now on asking “whoever has the ability to influence or turn that key and get them out of there to do it and do it now”, he said, adding: “I don’t know how long my parents’ health is going to last, and I think it would be a tragedy for them to die in a prison in a country where they have chosen to give their life in service.”
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan.”
