Three British males are staying held prisoner by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, The Mail on Sunday can expose.
Charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and another British nationwide who manages a lodge for support employees in the funds Kabul have been detained by the Taliban’s secret law enforcement considering the fact that early January.
The other Briton being held is notorious ‘danger tourist’ Miles Routledge, 23, who offers to his hundreds of followers on the web that he travels ‘to the most unsafe places on Earth for fun’.
He experienced a short while ago returned to Afghanistan, filming movies capturing guns with Taliban troops, inspite of obtaining to be evacuated from a ‘holiday’ in the region in 2021 when the Islamists seized again ability.
The Uk does not have an embassy or any consulates in Afghanistan pursuing the Taliban takeover. Last night, a Overseas Business spokesman said: ‘We are functioning hard to protected consular speak to with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting households.’
Miles Routledge, 23, very first grabbed headlines in the course of the Taliban just take-around of Afghanistan last year when he went on ‘holiday’ to the place and experienced to be evacuated from Kabul
Kevin Cornwell, 53, a British medic for charity Iqarus, who has been detained by the Taliban’s Common Directorate of Intelligence in Kabul, Afghanistan, because January 11
Mr Cornwell, a married father from Middlesbrough, was arrested in a raid at his lodge by officers from the Taliban’s Typical Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on January 11. Taliban agents accused him of possessing an unlawful firearm in the risk-free in his area at the Darya Village Hotel, which is preferred with Western humanitarian workers.
Mr Cornwell’s relatives reported he had been granted a licence for the handgun by the Taliban governing administration.
He had been in Afghanistan for 11 months performing as a medic for Iqarus Worldwide, which offers free wellbeing treatment to nearby people. Also detained in the raid was the hotel’s British manager, whom this newspaper has agreed not to identify at the ask for of his relatives.
He and Mr Cornwell have been held ever since in a secure unit for foreign nationals run by the GDI. No fees have been brought and they have not been granted authorized illustration.
The two men’s families are staying supported by Scott Richards, an knowledgeable negotiator with Presidium Network, a British non-financial gain organisation that functions in conflict zones.
Mr Richards reported: ‘Having spoken with numerous witnesses to the gatherings, it could be that we may possibly be seeking at a misunderstanding with GDI who may well have been reacting to a idea. The weapon in Kevin’s home was stored with the licence issued by the Taliban’s ministry of interior and was seemingly retained inside its holster. The weapon under no circumstances still left the harmless, it experienced never ever been carried. So the GDI could have been subsequent a suggestion, and then they locate themselves with two British nationals in detention.’
Mr Routledge (appropriate) had not too long ago returned to Afghanistan, filming video clips capturing guns with Taliban troops, regardless of acquiring to be evacuated from a ‘holiday’ in the region in 2021
He said he understood that the adult males were being staying nicely handled and are in superior well being, though there were concerns close to Mr Cornwell mainly because he demands medication.
Mr Richards claimed: ‘The clear worry here is that the detainees have not been permitted access to consular officials or global observers. There is no clarity as to the authorized approach in Afghanistan this sort of as the proper to representation. There is no clarity on the rates. Kevin is a humanitarian employee, liaising with the United Nations, Unicef and the World Foods Programme. To have folks involved in these kinds of operate with the incredible demands of Afghanistan at the moment, and to be most likely arbitrarily detained, will make it challenging to assure the security of other assist employees.’
Previous evening, he urged the Taliban to demonstrate ‘compassion’ and launch the guys throughout the crucial spiritual month of Ramadan.
Routledge, a previous physics university student at Loughborough University, has posted videos of himself firing weapons with Taliban fighters
Routledge, a previous physics scholar at Loughborough College, who has tens of countless numbers of social-media followers, has been unusually silent on the net due to the fact the stop of February. He was branded an ‘idiot’ in August 2021 when he had to be evacuated all through the Taliban takeover. His extraction was funded by British taxpayers.
Foreign Office tips is not to travel to the ‘extremely volatile’ nation, which has been plunged into crisis right after the chaotic withdrawal of American forces next two a long time of war.
But Routledge has made various visits to Afghanistan in the previous calendar year and unveiled a video in which he claimed he was travelling on cast paperwork.
Miles Routledge, from Birmingham, boasts to his hundreds of followers on the net that he travels ‘to the most unsafe places on Earth for fun’
Other clips showed him blasting automated rifles with a Taliban fighter and traveling to a weapons market place in the metropolis of Jalalabad, a stronghold for terrorists affiliated to Islamic Condition. Routledge beforehand mentioned he believed he would be risk-free in Afghanistan due to the fact of a £15 joke obtain that provides him the correct to use the title ‘Lord’, but a protection source explained his Taliban captors may possibly think he is truly a member of the English aristocracy.
Routledge also visited Ukraine as Russian forces invaded final yr and took a vacation to war-torn Sudan.
It was unclear in which he was remaining held previous evening. His mom Susan reported she experienced not heard from him.
Mr Cornwell was arrested at the Darya Village Resort and Business Park
Security industry experts mentioned it was probable that the Taliban would demand a prisoner swap in return for the release of Western adult men held. Yet another possibility is that the Islamists, who do not have diplomatic recognition as the legit governing administration of Afghanistan, will need the release of billions of bucks frozen by sanctions.
Quite a few of the senior leaders of the Taliban are listed as terrorists by the UN Stability Council. Their return to energy activated sanctions protecting against any financial transactions with them or any establishments below their authority.
Past calendar year, the Taliban unveiled former US marine Mark Frerichs, who was functioning as an engineer with a non-government organisation, following keeping him for a lot more than two several years. He was swapped for Taliban financier Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a everyday living sentence in a US jail for drug-trafficking.