The son of a British couple detained by the Taliban 5 months in the past has informed the BBC that he fears they might die in jail.
Peter Reynolds, 80, and Barbie, 76, have been arrested on 1 February whereas returning to their residence in central Bamiyan province, Afghanistan.
Their son Jonathan Reynolds stated their well being was quickly deteriorating, along with his father struggling critical convulsions and his mom “numb” from anaemia and malnutrition.
It isn’t recognized precisely why they have been detained, and a Taliban official informed the BBC in February that the group deliberate to launch the couple “as quickly as attainable”.
The UN has additionally warned that they might perish “in such degrading circumstances” if they don’t obtain medical care directly, calling their detention “inhumane”.
Mr Reynolds stated it had been a “harrowing and surreal” 5 months ready for the discharge of his mother and father, who lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, the place that they had citizenship and ran training initiatives.
One in all these initiatives concerned coaching ladies and kids and had apparently been accredited by native authorities, regardless of the Taliban banning training for ladies over 12-years-old and never permitting ladies to work.
Mr Reynolds stated his mother and father had been held in harsh circumstances – together with a most safety jail – regardless of being “deemed harmless” by a decide and going through no fees.
“My dad was chained to murderers and criminals,” he informed BBC Radio 4’s Immediately programme, including that that they had at one level been held in a basement for six weeks with out daylight, and never allowed out.
The couple revealed “simply how dangerous their well being is” after they final had contact with their kids on 15 June, Mr Reynolds stated.
“My dad’s well being is deteriorating quick specifically,” he stated of the 80-year-old, who has a historical past of minor coronary heart assaults.
“Now he is perhaps bought one thing like early Parkinson’s – tremors and shakes down the appropriate aspect of his physique, his arms and face,” he informed BBC Breakfast.
He added that his father spent “half an hour convulsing on the jail flooring” earlier than his spouse known as for a jail guard to maneuver him onto a “mattress pad on the ground” serving as a mattress.
Mrs Reynolds “has blue palms and ft to do with anaemia, malnutrition, simply not getting the appropriate healthcare,” he added.
Mr Reynolds stated he didn’t know his mother and father’ precise location – and that he was not sure “that the demand has been made for his or her quick launch”.
“Each week it looks like we’re informed ‘simply wait two or three extra days now… simply cling tight’.
“Week after week we’re informed that – they usually’re nonetheless in jail.”
Nevertheless, he stated he was grateful to the Overseas Workplace (FCDO) for the extent of communication with the household.
The couple have each had birthdays in jail, and final week marked their fifty fifth marriage ceremony anniversary; they married in Kabul in 1970.
Mr Reynolds stated: “I am grateful they have been collectively, however they’re definitely not free.”
The UN likewise warned on Monday that the pair’s well being was shortly declining, and questioned why they have been being held in any respect.
“With out entry to ample medical care, they’re susceptible to irreparable hurt and even dying,” learn a assertion by the UN’s human rights physique, which known as for his or her quick switch to a civilian hospital.
“We see no motive why this older couple ought to be detained in any respect, and have requested a direct evaluate of the grounds of their detention.
“It’s inhumane to maintain them locked up in such degrading circumstances and extra worrying when their well being is so fragile.”
It added that it had raised the couple’s case with the Taliban and the UK.
Taliban official Abdul Mateen Qani stated in February: “A collection of issues is being taken under consideration, and after analysis, we’ll endeavour to launch them as quickly as attainable.”
The FCDO has been approached for a response.
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 assist for British nationals in Afghanistan is due to this fact “severely restricted” and advises towards all journey to the nation.
