A British man in his 70s held hostage by the Taliban has described living in Afghanistan's most notorious prison as "the nearest thing to hell".
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 76, were captured by the terrorist group on February 1 while returning from work to their home in the central province of Bamyan.
The couple, who have resided in Afghanistan for 18 years and have joint UK-Afghan citizenship, are now being held at the Pul–e-Charkhi maximum security jail in the capital Kabul on unknown charges.
They have urged foreign secretary David Lammy to publicly condemn the Taliban, which seized power as US and NATO forces withdrew from the country in 2021 after two decades, and demand their release.
Faye Hall, a Chinese-American friend visiting the pair, was freed last month after Donald Trump struck a deal with the Taliban.
Their arrests were reportedly ordered by a commander linked to the Haqqani network, a Taliban faction led by Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.
With the Taliban having severely restricted women’s education and activities, it has been suggested that the Reynolds may have been detained due to one of their courses teaching mothering skills.
In a payphone recording shared with The Sunday Times, Mr Reynolds, who runs training programmes for girls and women with his wife, described the horrific conditions inside the prison.
He said: “I’ve been joined up with rapists and murderers by handcuffs and ankle cuffs, including a man who killed his wife and three children, shouting away, a demon-possessed man.
"The atmosphere is pretty shocking. I am learning a lot about the underbelly of Afghanistan,
"The prison guards shout all the time and beat people with a piece of piping.
"It's a horrible atmosphere — the nearest thing to hell I can imagine."
It's a horrible atmosphere — the nearest thing to hell I can imagine
Mr Reynolds said he receives just one meal a day, typically naan bread and chickpeas, with a green tea for breakfast.
He has also been separated from Mrs Reynolds, who is currently held in the women's quarters of the prison.
A lawyer working for the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL Afghanistan) was allowed to bring the British national medicine last week after he ran out of beta blockers and other medications.
Having grown up in India, Mr Reynolds met Mrs Reynolds in 1968 while studying at Bath University.
The couple married in Kabul two years later and went on to raise four children.
In 2009, the pair founded Rebuild, a business that provides education and training programmes for government and non-government organisations.
They are desperate to escape, but Mr Reynolds has begged his family not to pay the Taliban any “hush money or hostage money”.
He said: “This government needs to face up to the fact it has made a mistake, it has done wrong.
"If money is paid there is nothing to stop them arresting people again.”
