We feared execution, say couple held by Taliban for months

A British couple who were reunited with their family in the UK after being released from almost eight months in detention in Afghanistan said they feared being executed by the Taliban.

- Matthew Weaver

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, Barbie, 76, who arrived at Heathrow on Saturday, said it was never explained to them why they had been imprisoned after being arrested in February.

"We begun to think that we would never be released, or that we were even being held until we were executed," Peter told the Sunday Times. "We are bewildered as to why any of this happened and are very happy that this ordeal is over."

Barbie said: "They told us nothing. Even when we were taken to Kabul airport we thought maybe we were just flying somewhere for medical treatment." Instead, they were put on a flight to Doha, the capital of Qatar, whose officials led negotiations for their release.

Barbie said the toughest part of the last eight months was "seeing my 80-year-old husband struggling to get into the back of a police truck with his hands and ankles chained".