Family of British charity medic being held by the Taliban plea for his safe return from Afghanistan

The family of a British charity medic being held prisoner by the Taliban in Afghanistan last night made a desperate plea to his captors to release him, amid fears his health is worsening.

Kevin Cornwell’s distraught relatives revealed their ‘shock, horror and disbelief’ after he was seized by the Taliban’s feared secret police in a raid at his hotel in January.

The 53-year-old and another British national, the hotel’s manager, has been accused of being foreign spies and being in possession of an illegal firearm, despite Mr. Cornwell having a license for the gun.

The former British Army medic was working in Afghanistan for Iqarus, a non-profit medical agency that works on United Nations missions to provide free healthcare to people in conflict zones.

Taliban officials seized hundreds of pages of risk awareness reports from Iqarus’s security company, which they mistook for secret intelligence files.

Kevin Cornwell’s (pictured) distraught relatives revealed their ‘shock, horror and disbelief’ after he was seized by the Taliban’s feared secret police in a raid at his hotel in January

They also wrongly claimed a satellite phone kit used in remote areas was a signal jammer.

Mr. Cornwell’s family fears his health is deteriorating in custody after he missed an NHS appointment to treat kidney stones last month.

He sounded in discomfort during a rare phone call home earlier this month. He and the unnamed hotel manager are being held in the basement of a top-secret prison in Kabul run by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence.

They have been denied legal representation. Also being held in a separate facility is ‘danger tourist’ Miles Routledge, 23, from Birmingham, who was arrested last month.

In an open letter to the Taliban, released to this newspaper, Mr. Cornwell’s relatives said: ‘There are no words to express the full extent and impact Kevin’s detention has had on our family.

‘Kevin is a man who values honor and integrity in everything he undertakes in life. As part of his mission to bring quality healthcare to Afghanistan, Kevin was forced to make some harsh family sacrifices that leave him separated from his loved ones.

His commitment and passion for his work have been difficult for the family over the years.

‘But we all love the purity of his intention. Even with an illness that requires consistent medical attention, Kevin still chose to work, managing his pain between treatments.’

The family said for the first six weeks of his detention they did not know where he was or if he was still alive, adding: ‘Devastation, fear, and anxiety gripped us all. We remained frozen in time as the world continued to move forward.’

Finally, the Taliban allowed Mr. Cornwell to contact the British Embassy in Doha, Qatar. Mr. Cornwell and other detainees have been allowed to phone home twice since The Mail on Sunday broke the story of their incarceration last month.

Mr Cornwell’s family had hoped the Taliban would release him at the end of Ramadan but it did not happen.

They now fear he ‘may die from the absence of medical treatment not because he committed a crime but because he cared for people. His only crime is helping those who cannot help themselves.