An American woman detained by the Taliban alongside a British couple has told the BBC they are literally dying in prison and that time is running out.
Faye Hall was arrested with Peter, 80, and Barbie Reynolds, 76, on 1 February when returning to Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, where the couple lived.
While Ms. Hall was released after two months, Peter and Barbie remain in prison and still do not know why they are being held.
The Foreign Office (FCDO) has stated it is supporting the family of the couple being held in Afghanistan.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast in her first interview since being released, Ms. Hall broke down in tears when asked what she would like to tell the couple.
I love them, I know they will be out very soon, don't ever give up.
Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years prior to their arrest — the reason for which has not been confirmed despite four court appearances.
The pair held Afghan citizenship and ran a charity program in the country, which was approved by the Taliban when they took power in 2021.
Ms. Hall said the group, which also included an interpreter, had flown from Kabul to Bamiyan Province in a privately chartered plane when they were stopped at a checkpoint. They then spent days on the road being driven between police stations and prisons.
She described the conditions in which they had been held, including cramped cells and a maximum security prison holding murderers, fenced with barbed wire and where guards carried machine guns.
She warned that their health had rapidly deteriorated in prison, with Barbie losing significant weight and unable to stand or walk on one occasion.
She also cautioned that Peter had been getting sicker despite receiving medication, which he requires daily after undergoing heart surgery and cancer treatment.
We just have these elderly people, they're literally dying, and time is running out.
She emphasized the mental toll of the conditions as well, saying, It's not a healthy environment and we were the only foreigners there.
The couple's son has expressed fears that they could die in prison, with reports indicating Peter had serious convulsions and Barbie was suffering from anemia and malnutrition.
The UN warned in July that the couple could perish in such degrading conditions if immediate medical care was not provided, calling their detention inhumane.
Ms. Hall urged the US and UK governments to work together and take decisive action to secure the couple's release.
The FCDO confirmed: We are supporting the family of two British Nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. The Minister has met the family to discuss the case.
With the UK having shut its embassy in Kabul, support for British nationals in Afghanistan is labeled as severely limited, and all travel to the country is advised against.
A spokesperson for the US State Department recognized the Taliban's history of unjustly detaining foreign nationals and urged the group to cease its hostage diplomacy.
The Taliban's foreign minister stated in July that Barbie and Peter were in constant contact with their families and that efforts were ongoing to secure their release.
He claimed their human rights were being respected, insisting they had access to treatment, contact, and accommodation.
