The son of an elderly British couple who have been imprisoned by the Taliban has issued an urgent plea to Donald Trump following the release of an American citizen.
Jonathan Reynolds’ father Peter Reynolds, 79, and mother Barbie, 75, were arrested in February after they were travelling home in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan.
They were detained along with Faye Hall, a friend from the US who had rented a plane to travel with them, and a translator from the couple's Rebuild training business.
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Hall was released last week, making her the fourth US citizen to be released by the Taliban since January of this year.
Peter and Barbie - who got married in Kabul back in 1970 and went on to gain Afghan citizenship - have been running school training programmes for 18 years and remained in Afghanistan following the takeover by the Taliban in 2021.
Their son, a British and American citizen, told the BBC that the UK government had been 'very, very supportive'.
But he is now seeking help from America with a video plea to the US president, Donald Trump, outside of the White House earlier this week.
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“I think, for me, after seeing Faye Hall get out, I’m like, ‘well, who did that?’” Jonathan said to the outlet.
He claims he has now been 'interacting' with the US government.
“I have been interacting with the state department and few other agencies since my video reach out this week which has been encouraging,” he said. “I mean, it’s a very, very tricky situation for the any nation working with Afghanistan and the Taliban.”
Jonathan, whose parents have been detained for nearly nine weeks now, pleaded: "Anybody who has the ability to unlock that key and let them out, whether it be the Taliban, whether it be the British government or whether it be the American government, I would ask - do it now, please.
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"And if you have the ability to put the pressure on the people who hold that key, do it now, please. They've been in and out of court, which is infuriating for them.
"Because there's no charges and they are told every single time: yes, they are innocent, it's just a formality, we've made a mistake."
Their son said they are being held separately in prison, whilst Peter's health is deteriorating. After speaking to them via payphones, he described their conversations as 'excruciatingly painful'.
"Just to think of your parents, elderly parents and grandparents to my kids - and they've got great-grandkids even - and wondering if we're going to see them again," he said.
"We want to see our parents again, to hug them and hold them."
Topics: UK News, World News, Donald Trump, US News
Anish Vij