By Arpan Rai

Copyright independent

An elderly British couple who were held by the Taliban for seven months without charge have spoken at length about their detention for the first time, describing a bewildering period in which they were never told what they’d done wrong – and feared being executed.

Peter, 80, and Barbie Reynolds, 76, were pictured smiling and waving as they disembarked a plane in Doha on Friday, and have thanked the British and Qatari governments for their work to secure their release.

In a detailed series of responses provided to The Independent on Monday, the couple criticised their ill treatment and the lies told by the Taliban during their detention, suggesting they know they are leaving behind their home in the war-torn country for ever.

They say it is a “mystery” why the Taliban has chosen to release them now, adding that government officials have told them no deal was made to secure their freedom.

The couple married in 1970 in Kabul and have lived in Afghanistan for the past 18 years, running education and training programmes for women and girls. They believed their work for the Afghan people, combined with their age, would make them unlikely targets for the Taliban, and did not flee when the group came to power in August 2021.

The couple were arrested on 1 February this year along with their American friend Faye Hall, who had rented a plane to travel with them, according to employees of their organisation, Rebuild. An Afghan translator working with them was also arrested.

Initially, the Taliban said that the flight on which the Reynolds and their friends were travelling “did not coordinate with the local government”, and confirmed that they had been sent to a prison facility in Kabul. Later, they claimed the couple had “violated Afghan law”, but did not specify how exactly.

The couple describe a litany of health issues they suffered from during their detention, and said they were treated like criminals and chained to murderers. They were never charged or even told what crimes they were supposed to have committed, and still do not know to this day.

“We had done nothing wrong, and we were initially told we were being detained ‘for a few minutes only’ as guests of the government. However, when I was taken to court, I had my ankles and hands cuffed together with murderers and rapists,” Mr Reynolds said.

He said the couple had been held in 10 different prisons since their arrest in February. “We were treated with respect most of the time, but we felt a huge powerlessness,” he said.

On being asked about their worst moment during their detention, Mr Reynolds said: “The worst moment was being led away and being separated as a couple after 55 years of marriage to my best friend.”

Ms Reynolds said the moment they were separated was also the worst part of the ordeal for her, describing “seeing my 80-year-old husband struggling to get into the back of a police truck with his hands and ankles chained”.

“We were never told why we were arrested or still being held,” said Mr Reynolds, adding that the couple had repeatedly asked to sit down and discuss the situation with the Taliban but were never given that opportunity.

After their arrest in February, the couple said, they “lived amongst and talked with hundreds of prisoners of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan for three and a half months”. But for the next 120 days they were lodged in solitary confinement, cut off from the rest of the world.

“When [our] release didn’t happen, we had to deal with the thought that we would never be released, or that we were even being held until we were executed,” Mr Reynolds said.

Their children had previously told The Independent about their fears that Mr Reynolds would die in prison if he did not get his medication, which was being denied by the Taliban.

“We both encountered health issues during the seven and a half months, including severe anaemia, a possible stroke or silent heart attack, and blood and heart circulation problems,” Mr Reynolds said.

Ms Reynolds added: “We ate very oily, salty prison food in our respective cells for the first three and a half months. Then we were removed from Pul-e-Charki prison and were held in a basement cell for two months before moving to a room above ground.”

For their last two months in prison, the two said they were actually “treated as guests … with good food and kindness”. But the two are “bewildered as to why any of this happened and are very happy that this ordeal is over”.

“It is a mystery how or why we have been released. We were told by the Qatari and British governments that there was no deal that had been made,” Mr Reynolds said. “We have a lot to process; we are leaving behind quality people, our home, and all our possessions,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to hugging his family again.

The couple said they would now listen to their children’s narrative of how they experienced this traumatic time and processed all that has unfolded in the last eight months.

And confirming the impact on their lives and work of their unexplained detention, the couple suggested that they would probably never return to Afghanistan – which means leaving their longtime home and friends behind for ever.

“We are confident in the many wonderful Afghans we know to bring about a positive future for their country without us,” the couple said.