British couple ‘dying’ in Afghan jail, warns lady held by Taliban

[ad_1] Freya Chappell and

Maia Davies

Watch: Faye Corridor remembers being detained with Mr and Mrs Reynolds

An American lady detained by the Taliban alongside a British couple has instructed the BBC they're "actually dying" in jail and that "time is working out".

Faye Corridor was arrested with Peter, 80, and Barbie Reynolds, 76 on 1 February when returning to Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, the place the couple lived.

Whereas Ms Corridor was launched after two months, Peter and Barbie stay in jail and nonetheless have no idea why they're being held.

The Overseas Workplace (FCDO) mentioned it was supporting the household of a pair being held in Afghanistan.

Talking to BBC Breakfast in her first interview since being launched, Ms Corridor broke down in tears when requested what she wish to inform the couple.

"I like them, I do know they are going to be out very quickly, do not ever hand over."

Mr and Mrs Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years previous to their arrest - the explanation for which has not been confirmed regardless of 4 court docket appearances.

The pair had Afghan citizenship and ran a charity programme within the nation, permitted by the Taliban after they took energy in 2021.

Ms Corridor mentioned the group, which additionally included an interpreter, had flown from Kabul to Bamiyan Province in a privately chartered airplane after they had been stopped at a examine level.

They then spent days on the highway being pushed between police stations and prisons.

She described the circumstances during which that they had been held, together with cramped cells and a most safety jail holding "murderers", fenced with barbed wire and the place guards carried machine weapons.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6444/live/63a33cd0-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="PA Media Barbie and Peter Reynolds smile for the camera while stood outside. They are in front of an orange wall behind which long stalks of wood are the tops of two flat buildings are visible. Peter wears a grey cap, black waistcoat and blue long-sleeved top. Barbie wears a turquoise head scarf, a dark blue waistcoat, and a floral long-sleeved blue top." class="sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi"/> PA Media Peter and Barbie Reynolds lived in Afghanistan for 18 years previous to their arrest in February

She warned that their well being had quickly deteriorated in jail, with Barbie shedding vital weight and unable to face or stroll on one event.

She additionally cautioned that Peter had been getting sicker regardless of receiving treatment from the Qatari authorities, which he required day by day after present process coronary heart surgical procedure and most cancers therapy.

"We simply have these aged folks, they're actually dying, and time is working out."

She harassed that the circumstances had been taking a psychological toll in addition to bodily, as a result of "each day you have no idea the place you may be tomorrow".

"It is not a wholesome atmosphere and we had been the one foreigners there," she added.

The pair's son beforehand instructed the BBC he feared they'd die in jail, cautioning that Peter had suffered severe convulsions and Barbie was "numb" from anaemia and malnutrition.

The UN warned in July that the couple might perish "in such degrading circumstances" if they didn't obtain medical care without delay, calling their detention "inhumane".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a7e4/live/d6fc8100-906e-11f0-9495-29992932f8b8.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Faye Hall sits on a blue sofa in between two men wearing white in a plush room with patterned yellow wallpaper and carpeting. She wears a long dark green dress with long sleeves and a black and white head scarf and is speaking into a mobile phone." class="sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi"/> Reuters Faye Corridor on the Qatari embassy in Kabul after being launched in late March

Ms Corridor referred to as on the US and UK governments to "work collectively" and do extra to safe the pair's launch.

The FCDO mentioned: "We're supporting the household of two British Nationals who're detained in Afghanistan. The Minister has met the household to debate the case.

The UK shut its embassy in Kabul and withdrew its diplomats from the nation after the Taliban returned to energy in 2021.

The FCDO says help for British nationals in Afghanistan is subsequently "severely restricted" and advises towards all journey to the nation.

A spokesperson for the US State Division mentioned the Taliban had a "historical past of unjustly detaining overseas nationals".

"They need to completely finish their apply of hostage diplomacy and launch all these unjustly detained instantly."

The Taliban's overseas minister mentioned in July that Barbie and Peter had been "in fixed contact with their households" and that efforts had been beneath option to safe their launch however that "these steps haven't but been accomplished".