Latest news with #VeteransTransitionNetwork
Al Arabiya
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Former Canadian soldier released in Afghanistan after Qatari mediation, official says
Canadian veteran David Lavery has been freed following his arrest in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Nov. 11 after mediation by Qatar, an official with knowledge of the release said on Sunday. The circumstances surrounding Lavery's arrest remain unclear. The Veterans Transition Network, where Lavery worked, said last year that he had frequently traveled to Afghanistan to carry out humanitarian work. 'Mr. Lavery's release was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar, asking for their support given their past experience as mediators in Afghanistan,' the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Lavery is now in the Qatari capital, Doha, where he has undergone a medical assessment, the official said. Read more:
CBC
26-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former Canadian soldier David Lavery 'safe' in Qatar after release from Afghanistan, Joly says
Lavery was detained in Afghanistan on Remembrance Day last year: source Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadian Armed Forces veteran David Lavery is "safe" in Qatar — months after a network that supports vets expressed concern that he went missing in Afghanistan and was possibly detained by the Taliban government. In a social media post on Sunday, Joly said she "just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits." Joly also thanked Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar's foreign affairs minister, for "helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen." According to a source with knowledge of Lavery's release, the former Canadian soldier was detained in Kabul on Nov. 11, 2024 — Remembrance Day. The Canadian government contacted the government of Qatar for assistance securing Lavery's release. Qatari mediators co-ordinated with senior Canadian officials and used contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to assess Lavery's condition and provide care while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family, the source said. Finally, the source said, Lavery underwent a medical assessment upon his arrival in Doha and is now with his family. In November, the Veterans Transition Network said it was "deeply concerned about the well-being of David Lavery, known to all those he helped as 'Canadian Dave.'" Since before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021, Lavery had been working to provide aid and assistance to eligible Afghan migrants. The Veterans Transition Network noted in November that Lavery repeatedly travelled to Afghanistan for humanitarian work and to lay wreaths at the Canadian monument in Kabul on Remembrance Day.
CBC
26-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former Canadian soldier David Lavery 'safe' in Qatar, says foreign affairs minister
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadian Armed Forces veteran David Lavery is "safe" in Qatar — months after a network that supports vets expressed concern that Lavery went missing in Afghanistan and was possibly detained by the Taliban government. In a social media post, Joly said she "just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits." Joly also thanked Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, for "helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen." In November, the Veterans Transition Network said they were "deeply concerned about the well-being of David Lavery, known to all those he helped as 'Canadian Dave.'" The network's statement said Lavery disappeared from the Kabul airport on Nov. 11, 2024. Since before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, Lavery had been working to provide aid and assistance to eligible Afghan migrants. The Veterans Transition Network noted in November that Lavery repeatedly travelled to Afghanistan for humanitarian work, and to lay wreaths at the Canadian monument in Kabul on Remembrance Day.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Canadian veteran released in Afghanistan after Qatari mediation, official says
DOHA (Reuters) - Canadian veteran David Lavery has been freed following his arrest in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Nov. 11 after mediation by Qatar, an official with knowledge of the release said on Sunday. The circumstances surrounding Lavery's arrest remain unclear. The Veterans Transition Network, where Lavery worked, said last year that he had frequently travelled to Afghanistan to carry out humanitarian work. "Mr. Lavery's release was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar, asking for their support given their past experience as mediators in Afghanistan," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Lavery is now in the Qatari capital, Doha, where he has undergone a medical assessment, the official said.
The National
26-01-2025
- Politics
- The National
Canadian veteran released after months-long detention in Afghanistan, reports say
A Canadian veteran has been freed following his arrest in Afghanistan in November after mediation by Qatar, agencies reported on Sunday. The circumstances surrounding David Lavery's November 11 arrest remain unclear. The Veterans Transition Network, where Mr Lavery worked, said last year that he had frequently travelled to Afghanistan to carry out humanitarian work. "Mr Lavery's release was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar, asking for their support given their past experience as mediators in Afghanistan," a official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. He is now in the Qatari capital of Doha, where he has undergone a medical assessment. The Canadian veteran was "secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar", AFP said, citing an anonymous source close to the negotiations. "Qatari mediators co-ordinated with senior Canadian officials and utilised their contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to Kabul to assess Lavery's condition and provide care, while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family," the source said. Mr Lavery made headlines three years earlier while helping in the evacuation of about 100 Afghans during the withdrawal of US and allied forces from the country. He spent decades in the Canadian military and more recently, he has reportedly operated a private security firm in Kabul. The former soldier's release follows the liberation last week by the Taliban government of two American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan being held in the US, in another deal brokered by Qatar. Two other US citizens are believed to still be in detention in Afghanistan: former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalised American Mahmood Habibi.
