Five UN human rights experts call for release of British citizens detained by the Taliban
On Monday 21 July 2025, five United Nations (UN) human rights experts called for the release of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, British citizens detained by the Taliban since 1 February 2025, and for their immediate access to medical treatment.
The Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Alice Jill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Claudia Mahler, and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Tlaleng Mofokeng, published a public statement of concern about the ongoing detention of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, now detained by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) in Kabul, Afghanistan. The UN experts said:
“We see no reason why this older couple should be detained at all, and have requested an immediate review of the grounds of their detention. It is inhumane to keep them locked up in such degrading conditions and more worrying when their health is so fragile.”
In their last message to their children, Mrs Reynolds said that her husband urgently needed to be transported to a hospital in Dubai or the UK where he could receive the medical care he so desperately needs.
Today’s UN statement of concern follows ongoing engagement with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture by the family’s counsel team, Kate Gibson, Tatyana Eatwell and Nikila Kaushik, since March 2025, and follows an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur in the light of Mr Reynolds’ rapidly declining health and the ongoing lack of any lawful explanation or justification for Mr and Mrs Reynolds’ detention or any indication that their release is imminent.
Noting that Mr and Mrs Reynolds have been detained without charge and without access to adequate medical treatment, the UN experts stressed that all detained persons must be treated with humanity and dignity, in conditions that take into account their age and health conditions. Reflecting on the serious mental harm, amounting to cruel treatment, caused in circumstances where Mr and Mrs Reynolds are detained without knowing the reasons for their detention or the prospects of their release, the UN experts warned:
“The psychological toll on their health from not knowing why they are being held or when they are to be released is cruel treatment.”
In the light of the statement from the UN experts, the Reynolds’ four children, reinforcing the call for their parents’ release, said:
“Our parents, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, are now 80 and 76 years old – they have had their birthdays in prison, and it was also their 55th wedding anniversary this week. They have dedicated their lives to the people of Afghanistan for the last 18 years.
In their last call, Mum described Dad’s rapidly deteriorating health. According to a remote medical assessment conducted by a cardiologist, Dad may have suffered a stroke or a silent heart attack.
We, their four adult children, based in the US and UK, have written privately to the Taliban leadership twice, pleading for mercy and release as a humanitarian gesture. We are publicly appealing again to the Taliban to uphold their beliefs of compassion, mercy, fairness and human dignity. This is another urgent plea to the Taliban to release our parents before it is too late, and they die in their custody.”
Background
Peter and Barbie Reynolds were arrested by the Taliban on 1 February 2025, as they disembarked from an internal flight from Kabul to Nayak, where their home in Afghanistan was based. At the time of their arrest, Mr and Mrs Reynolds had been living in Afghanistan for 18 years and were deeply connected to the community. Through their organisation Rebuild Consultants, they developed models for good practice for Afghanistan businesses and organisations through training programs in communication skills, conflict resolution, integrity, and social and emotional development. They also worked with mothers and children in Nayak, again teaching conflict resolution, communication skills, and parenting skills, with a view to promoting harmony within Afghan families.When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Peter and Barbie decided not to leave. They told their children that they “couldn’t leave the country, and the people they love, in their darkest hour”.
Mr and Mrs Reynolds were initially detained in Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul. They were subjected to a court process which appears to have concluded -- without charges and without any evidence being produced. A report prepared by the Afghan police, seen by Mr and Mrs Reynolds, stated that there was no evidence of their having engaged in wrongdoing. Nevertheless, they endured over three months of detention in Pul-e-Charkhi prison during which time they both experienced a rapid decline in their health.
On 18 May 2025, and without notice, Mr and Mrs Reynolds were transferred to the custody of Afghanistan’s GDI and told that they would be released in a matter of days. Instead, they were detained in GDI custody incommunicado in an underground cell, without access to sunlight for several weeks. Eight weeks later, they remain in GDI custody. No explanation has been provided for their transfer into GDI detention or for their ongoing detention. It remains the case that, since their arrest and despite thorough investigation by the Afghan police, no charges have been laid against them.
Since their transfer into GDI custody, both Mr and Mrs Reynolds’ health has markedly worsened. In addition to being elderly, Mr Reynolds has a history of heart problems. A medical professional who conducted a remote assessment expressed concern that Mr Reynolds has suffered a stroke or a silent heart attack whilst in the Taliban’s custody. Mrs Reynolds is anaemic and has endured periods of frequently collapsing and being unable to stand. They are in urgent need of medical attention.
Earlier urgent communication of concerns to the Taliban by five UN experts
An urgent appeal was first filed with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture in March 2025, when Mr and Mrs Reynolds were detained in Pul-e-Charkhi prison. The urgent appeal raised grave and increasing concerns for Mr and Mrs Reynolds’ health and well-being that had already at that time sharply declined since they were detained on 1 February 2025, raising a serious risk to life, and the lack of due process in their case.
On 17 April 2025, five UN experts sent an urgent communication to the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Muttaqi, calling for Peter and Barbie’s immediate release and access to urgent, adequate and comprehensive medical care and treatment, as appropriate, in a civilian hospital. In that communication, the UN experts expressed their concerns about Peter and Barbie’s rapidly declining health, “brought on by and/or exacerbated by the terrible conditions of their detention”, and warned that, given their advanced ages and medical health, “they may be at risk of irreversible harm, and even fatal consequences”.
The UN experts concluded that Peter and Barbie’s treatment may amount to violations of Peter and Barbie’s rights to life (Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 (ICCPR), to liberty and security and to be free from arbitrary detention (Article 3 UDHR and Article 9 ICCPR), to be free from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 5 UDHR, Articles 7 and 10 ICCPR and Articles 1, 2, and 16 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment), and their right to health (Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966).
The UN experts reminded the Taliban that detained older persons must have access to the same rights as other detainees, and must also be treated in line with United Nations Principles for Older Persons (GA res. 46/91, principles 11, 12, 13, 17 and 18)
In the light of Mr and Mrs Reynolds’ British citizenship, the UN experts also raised the case with the United Kingdom.
Kate Gibson, Tatyana Eatwell and Nikila Kaushik act on behalf of the Reynolds family.
A PDF version of this press release is available here.
Photo courtesy of the Reynolds Family
Notes:
- The five UN experts who authored the 17 April 2025 urgent communication to acting Foreign Minister, Mr Muttaqi (UA OTH 46/2025) are: Alice Jill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on the situation on human rights in Afghanistan; Morris Tidball-Binz, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Tlaleng Mofokeng, the Special Rapporteur on the right to everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and Claudia Mahler, the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights of older persons.
- Afghanistan acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 on 24 January 1983.
- Afghanistan ratified the Convention against Torture or other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984 on 1 April 1987.
- Further background information is available at www.freepeterandbarbie.com.
- For press enquiries please contact k.gibson@doughtystreet.co.uk.
