Two British pensioners held by the Taliban are due to appear in court but without knowing the charges against them, their family has said. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were detained as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, on February 1.
Mrs Reynolds phoned her family from Kabul’s Pul-e-Charki prison to them a court date was set for today (March 20). According to The Guardian newspaper, in a voicemail to her relatives, she said: « We don’t even know what the charges are against us. We will hear the charges for the first time then. »
The Taliban arrested the couple alongside a friend from the US, Faye Hall, and a translator from the couple’s Rebuild training business.
In what she described as a « shocking escalation », their daughter previously told The Sunday Times that the pair have been separated with Mr Reynolds moved to an « undisclosed location » and his health « significantly » deteriorating.
Sarah Entwistle, the couple’s daughter, said she fears Mr and Mrs Reynolds won’t get a fair trial as their interpreter will not be allowed to translate for them.
She said her mum is « extremely concerned » that without a competent interpreter, their case cannot be accurately or fairly heard and they won’t be able to properly follow or engage in the proceedings, in what she described as a « serious breach of their rights ».
Ms Entwistle on Wednesday (March 19) said the family remain extremely concerned for Mr Reynolds, whose health she said had deteriorated to the point where his life was in danger.
She said: « Without access to the medication he needs, his continued detention poses a serious risk to his life. »
The family has pleaded with the Taliban to release Mr and Mrs Reynolds and allow them to return home where they have the medication he needs to survive.
A Rebuild employee said last month the group was told that their flight « did not co-ordinate with the local Government », adding that the three have been imprisoned in Kabul.
In a statement reported by the BBC in February, Taliban official Abdul Mateen Qani said: « A series of considerations is being taken into account, and after evaluation, we will endeavour to release them as soon as possible. »
Mr Qani added the three foreign nationals had Afghan passports and national ID cards.
Mr and Mrs Reynolds have run school training programmes for 18 years and remained in the country after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
The couple, who originally met at the University of Bath, married in Kabul in 1970.
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