Monday, February 24, 2025 - An elderly British couple have reportedly been arrested by the Taliban for 'teaching good parenting skills to mothers' in Afghanistan.
According to Mail Online, Peter, 79, and Barbie Reynolds, 75, were
arrested on February 1 after they returned to their home in the Bamiyan
province.
The couple, who have been running training schools in Afghanistan for
the last 18 years, were text messaging their four children to tell them they
were being held by the interior ministry and that they were ok.
But after three days family members said the messages suddenly stopped
with daughter Sarah Entwistle saying: 'This is really bad.'
The Reynolds' home has been raided and their employees have been quizzed
by the Taliban about whether they were engaging in religious proselytising,
reported The Sunday Times.
The couple, who wed in Kabul in 1970, were urged to flee the
country when the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 but decided to
stay as 'they could not leave when Afghans were in their hour of need'.
Barbie was even honoured by the Taliban to become the first woman to
receive a certificate of appreciation after they were 'impressed and inspired'
by the programmes the couple offered.
Mrs Entwistle, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, said. 'My mother is 75
and my father almost 80 and [he] needs his heart medication after a
mini-stroke.
'They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are
being held because they were teaching mothers with children is
outrageous.'
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 urging for their mother and father to be released.
The worried daughter has insisted her parents have done nothing wrong
and 'were meticulous about keeping by the rules'.
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