A British teacher arrested with his wife in Afghanistan is at risk of dying after being denied access to heart medication, according to a colleague.
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were detained as they travelled to their home in the country’s Bamyan province on February 1, an employee of the couple’s training business confirmed.
They added that the couple were arrested alongside a US friend, Faye Hall, who had rented a plane to travel with them, and a translator from the couple’s Rebuild training business, with employees quizzed about whether they were engaging in ‘religious proselytising’.
The Rebuild employee said the group was told their flight ‘did not co-ordinate with the local government’, adding that the three have been imprisoned in Kabul.
Mr Reynolds is being refused access to heart medication and his condition is ‘not good’, according to the employee.
They said: ‘The Taliban found no wrongdoing by Peter or the Rebuild organisation, yet they imprisoned them without any crime or guilt.
‘It seems that if Peter and Barbie are not released soon, Peter may lose his life because he needs medication and the Taliban are not allowing him it.’
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were detained as they travelled to their home in the country’s Bamyan province on February 1
Describing the British couple, the employee said: ‘They are the most honourable people I have ever met in my life.
‘Peter and Barbie are very dear to us, but unfortunately, there is nothing we can do. We can’t even visit them in prison.
‘Since US financial aid to the Taliban has been cut off, the Taliban are trying to take foreign hostages to gain concessions from western governments.’
The employee said all Rebuild workers were ‘in danger’ and ‘most of them are displaced and living in hiding’.
Mr and Ms 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.
Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, told the Sunday Times: ‘My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke.
‘They were just trying to help the country they loved.’
Taliban fighters working as police patrol an area of the capital, Kabul
After taking power, the Taliban introduced a ban on women working and education for girls older than 12.
Since then, thugs from its ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice have targeted education providers and activists.
One of them, Matiullah Wesa, was arrested in March and her whereabouts remain unknown.
While the Taliban has not released a list of punishments for anyone involved in supporting women’s education, forced disappearances are said to have become ‘common’.
The Reynolds have dual citizenship and run five schools in Kabul, which includes a mothers and children training programme reportedly approved by authorities.
Mrs Entwistle and her three brothers have written an open letter to the Taliban calling for their mother and father to be released.
They wrote: ‘We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest.
‘They have communicated their trust in you, and that as Afghan citizens they will be treated well.’
It is understood the couple’s family did not want the UK Government to get involved with the case.
Taliban security personnel stand guard as a burqa-clad woman walks along a street in Badakhshan province
In their letter to the Taliban, Ms Entwistle and her siblings wrote: ‘Our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded.’
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office declined to comment.
The couple met while they were studying at Bath University where Barbie obtained a BSc degree in sociology and psychology.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces, prompting the United Nations to denounce the ‘gender apartheid’ the administration has established.
Taliban authorities have banned post-primary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places.
In October, the Taliban banned women from hearing other women’s voices in a cruel rule which sparked fears that women will now no longer be able to talk to each other.
Afghanistan’s minister for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, Khalid Hanafi, said at the time: ‘Even when an adult female prays and another female passes by, she must not pray loudly enough for them to hear.
‘How could they be allowed to sing if they aren’t even permitted to hear [each other’s] voices while praying, let alone for anything else.’
