Son of British couple held by Taliban describes how parents were ‘chained to murderers’ in prison
The son of a British couple currently held by the Taliban shared an idea about the harsh conditions faced by his family.
76 -year -old Barbie Reynolds and 80 -year -old husband Peter were arrested by Taliban when they returned to their homes in Bamyan province in the center of Afghanistan.
Until eight weeks ago, they had been arrested for five and a half months without being accused and they were kept separately in a maximum security prison.
“They were initially taken to local stations and transferred to Kabul and entered the maximum security prison they were separate from, Jon Jonathan Reynolds said.
“My mother was in a woman’s prison, my father was in prison with approximately 10,000 men and chained to killers and criminals.”
Later, within two to three days, he was transferred to the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) with the promise of being released, but it appeared for months.
Children said that their parents had better conditions in the GDI, but they still have no beds or furniture, and that they had serious concerns about the health of their elderly parents.
The last contact with the parents of the children said in June that their mother’s health was worsened rapidly.
“It is very painful to hear that your elderly parents and health fails very quickly and very quickly, and no one seems to be able to turn the key and release.
“My father, who had a series of historical small heart attacks, now some small Parkinson’s seems to be advanced.
“He was swinging in his hands and confronted to the point he was on the ground, and he couldn’t get up, and his entire body was trembling.
“My mother has numbness in her body. Partially, her hands and feet go blue because of malnutrition and some kind of anemia.”
“The truth is that they can die in that prison, and that’s why I beg those who have the ability to free them and bring them home now.”
The British couple has been living in Afghanistan for the last 18 years, conducting educational and training projects, and even after the Taliban was captured in 2021, he decided to stay in the country.
In a statement on Monday, the UN Human Rights Experts said that the Reynolds couple’s couple were “irreparable and even under the risk of death without reaching sufficient medical care.
Foreign Ministry spokesman: “We support the family of two British citizens detained in Afghanistan.”
