Elderly British man says Taliban jail is ‘nearest thing to hell'
A 79-year-old British man imprisoned by the Taliban alongside rapists and murderers has described his situation as 'the nearest thing to hell.'
Peter Reynolds, and his wife, Barbie, 75, were captured by the Taliban in February while returning to their home in central Afghanistan.
In a voice note provided to The Telegraph by his family, Mr Reynolds, speaking from the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, described his situation as 'the nearest thing to hell'.
He said: 'I am learning a lot about the belly, the underbelly of Afghanistan. The prison guards shout all the time and beat people. We just witnessed a guy being beaten just now by one of the wardens outside in the exercise yard.
'It's a horrible atmosphere, the nearest thing to hell I can imagine.'
The Reynolds, who have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and have joint UK-Afghan citizenship, are being held separately in the Afghan capital.
The couple were married in Kabul in 1970, before war ravaged the capital, and later set up Rebuild, a company that provides education and training programmes for government and non-government organisations.
Mr Reynolds said: 'The other thing is, I've been joined up with rapists - by my ankles, ankle-cuffs, handcuffs - murderers and just even before this call, there is a guy here who killed his wife and three children, shouting away, a demon-possessed man.
'These things are an utter disgrace and shame so I'm appalled.'
Their family urged David Lammy last week to publicly condemn the Taliban and demand the couple's release.
Their relationship began at Bath University in 1968, when Mrs Reynolds, who grew up in India and spent summers in Afghanistan, first set foot in England.
Since the couple's arrest, their home has been ransacked and their house staff interrogated.
The Telegraph has learnt, however, that they are victims of a deepening internal power struggle within the Islamist regime.
Their arrest was ordered by a commander linked to the Haqqani network, a powerful Taliban faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister.
The arrests have triggered intense disagreements between Taliban factions in Kabul and Kandahar, with 'heated phone calls' between the two power centres.
The couple decided to remain in the country when the Taliban took power in 2021. Their company's workshops focus on project-based learning and cover communication skills, emotional and social intelligence and conflict resolution.
Sarah Entwistle, the couple's daughter, told The Telegraph that the hardest part for her parents is being separated from each other - the longest they've gone without speaking since becoming sweethearts in the 1960s.
She said: 'We are able to talk to Dad several times a week, and he keeps insisting that his (locked and barred cell) is the VIP suite - because he only has to share a toilet with his interpreter, and they have a bunk bed.
'He says they are given one meal a day, but he's given extra food from the commander's table. He's lost weight, and has had some health scares, but Dad can find light in the darkest of places.'
She explained that her father and his interpreter are allowed to make family calls when 'the rapists, murderers and out of control prisoners are back in their cells.'
She said: 'While the guards scream at the other prisoners, they don't ever shout at Dad. This is because he's earned respect in a system that is terrifying and unpredictable.'
As for her mother, Ms Entwistle said: 'Mum too has found a way to help those around her. She's creating an informal programme for the women in prison to help them with spoken English. While they can read and write, they don't know how to speak it. She's showing a group how to instruct others when she's not around any more.'
'This is who our parents are,' Ms Entwistle added. 'Mum and Dad are still true to themselves in the middle of this—loving people, keeping peace, and creating solutions in one of the very darkest, violent and most hopeless places in the world.
'They understand the power of the Taliban, and the shocking stories around them. But they are literally prepared to sacrifice their lives for the welfare of these people.'
Faye Hall, an American citizen who was detained alongside them, was released last week in a deal cut with senior US officials.
Ms Entwistle told The Telegraph that if American officials were able to free Ms Hall, the Government should be able to free her parents.
She said: 'We will continue to wait in hope that the Taliban will not only release them, but choose to work with them for the good of the country.'
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