(Kabul) “Several” Britons are currently detained in Afghanistan, London announced on Saturday, adding that it had “discussed” their situation with the Taliban authorities.
Posted yesterday at 10:45 a.m.
“We are providing support to the families of a number of British men detained in Afghanistan,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement sent to AFP, without specifying their number or who is holding them.
“British officials have raised their detention with the Taliban at every opportunity, including when a delegation visited Kabul this week,” he added.
This statement comes the day after the release of two foreign journalists arrested in Kabul while on mission for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
One of them is the British Andrew North, freelance journalist and former BBC correspondent in Kabul. The identity of the second journalist freed has not been revealed.
After the two journalists were released, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said they were detained “because they did not have identity cards, licenses or the necessary documents”.
The release came the day after UK mission chief Hugo Shorter, currently based in Qatar, met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
They notably mentioned the humanitarian crisis and the question of human rights, according to Mr. Shorter.
Some international media recently mentioned at least six British citizens detained in Afghanistan, including Andrew North who was released on Friday.
Asked about this by AFP, the Taliban authorities did not comment.
Among the British citizens detained is also Peter Jouvenal, a former journalist turned businessman, with dual German and British nationality, detained since early December, according to a statement released by his friends.
Married to an Afghan, Mr. Jouvenal could have been “detained by mistake” while he was in Afghanistan as part of contacts for investments in the country’s mining industry, they add.
“He is being held without charges and without any possibility of being able to contact either his family or his lawyers”, it is affirmed, adding that Mr. Jouvenal had in particular been a cameraman during an interview for CNN of the leader of Al -Qaeda Osama bin Laden, in 1997 in eastern Afghanistan.
“Before his arrest, he worked openly and met frequently with senior Taliban leaders,” it added.
Since their return to power, the Islamic fundamentalists Taliban have arrested certain voices critical of their regime and beaten or arrested several journalists.