2/4/2023 – | Last updated: 4/2/2023 10:37 AM (Makkah)
Three Britons are being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Presidium Network, a British NGO, said it was "working closely" with two of the detainees' families.
It concerns British citizen Miles Rutledge, dubbed the "dangerous tourist", who returned to Afghanistan after being evacuated by the British armed forces less than two years ago, and is a YouTube influencer, and Kevin Cornell, a volunteer paramedic in a charitable organization, and a hotel manager for workers Relief in Kabul is not named.
It is believed that two of the detainees have been in the hands of the Taliban since last January, while it is not known since when the third was detained.
For its part, the British Foreign Office said in a statement, "We are working to establish consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and support their families."
"We believe they are in good health and are being treated well," Scott Richards, a member of the Presidium, told the BBC and Sky News. "We have no reason to believe they have been subjected to any ill-treatment such as torture."
Presidium Network on Twitter urged the Taliban to "pay attention to what we believe to be a misunderstanding, and release these men".
We just completed a piece on live television for Sky News where we reiterate the importance of rule of law and transparency in hearings. And he asked the Taliban to consider what we believe is a misunderstanding and release these men.
— Presidium Network (@PresidiumNet) April 1, 2023
It is noteworthy that last year the Taliban released the well-known television journalist Peter Juvenal and 4 other Britons who had detained them for 6 months. At that time, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the British of "carrying out activities contrary to the laws of the country and the traditions of the Afghan people."
The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and has since sparked international outrage over its policies, especially towards women and girls.
