Elderly woman detained by Taliban for months ‘taught fellow female prisoners’

An elderly woman who was part of a couple held for months without charge in Afghanistan began teaching her fellow prisoners while she was detained, she has revealed, as her husband told of how they thought they would “never be released”.

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were freed by the Taliban on Friday after being held for nearly eight months following their arrest as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan.

The pair arrived at Heathrow Airport on Saturday afternoon, and in the Sunday Times Mr Reynolds told of his fear after their arrest in February they were “being held until we were executed”.

They were held without charge in a maximum security prison, including long periods of separation.

Mr and Mrs Reynolds had lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades and ran a training and education organisation.

“We had begun to think that we would never be released, or that we were even being held until we were executed,” Mr Reynolds told the Sunday Times.

“We felt huge powerlessness.

“We were told we were guests. But when I was taken to court, I had my ankles and hands cuffed together with murderers and rapists.”

The couple, from Bath, said they still do not know why they were detained by the Taliban.

“We asked again and again to sit with the Taliban authorities responsible but never were given that opportunity,” Mr Reynolds said.

Their release came after months of campaigning by the couple’s children.

In a statement on Friday, the family said: “We are overwhelmed with gratitude and relief to share that our parents, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, have been released after seven months and 21 days in detention by the Taliban.

“This is a moment of immense joy for our family, and we are deeply thankful to everyone who played a role in securing their release.”

The family said they wanted to extend their appreciation to the emir of Qatar for his leadership and compassion, and also thanked Qatari diplomats Mohammed Al Khulaifi and Mirdef Al Qashouti for their “tireless diplomatic efforts and unwavering support throughout this ordeal”.

The Sunday Times reported that for first three and a half months they were held with hundreds of prisoners, and later Mrs Reynolds began teaching fellow female prisoners.

She said the worst moment was “seeing my 80-year-old husband struggling to get into the back of a police truck with his hands and ankles chained”, while Mr Reynolds told the newspaper that “being led away and separated as a couple after 55 years of marriage to my best friend was the hardest thing”.

Now back on UK soil, Mrs Reynolds said that for time being they would not return to Afghanistan.

The couple thought they would miss their granddaughter’s wedding next month after Mrs Reynold’s pleas to get back in time were ignored.

The Taliban have never explained what prompted the couple’s detention.

A spokesman at the Taliban government’s foreign ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said on X the couple had “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison on Friday after a court hearing.

He did not say what law the couple were accused of breaking.