A British couple who had been detained in Afghanistan for almost eight months has been released, after lobbying by their family and growing efforts in recent weeks to free Western nationals held by the Taliban.
Peter Reynolds, 80, and Barbie Reynolds, 76, ran education programs in Afghanistan for almost two decades and were arrested in February.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Afghan foreign ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said in a post on social media that they had “violated the laws of Afghanistan,” and were released “following the judicial process,” but provided little detail about the allegations against the couple.
The Reynolds were arrested on Feb. 1 when they were returning to their home in Bamiyan Province, in central Afghanistan. The pair had been running a program offering education and training in Afghanistan through a development company they founded in 2009.
The Qatari government facilitated their release, an Afghan official said.
Elian Peltier is an international correspondent for The Times, covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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