The son of a British couple who are being held hostage by the Taliban has urgently pleaded to Donald Trump for help, revealing what conditions are like in the jail.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, have been held captive for more than nine weeks in Afghanistan’s most notorious prison.

No charges have been issued, nor any explanation given for why they were arrested on February 1 with their interpreter, Jaya, and a visiting Chinese-American friend, Faye Hall.

They were detained after flying in a small plane from Kabul to an airstrip near their home in the central province of Bamiyan, known for its giant Buddha statues, which were blown up by the previous Taliban regime.

The pair are being held in Pul-e-Charkhi maximum security jail in Kabu. Mr Reynolds has pleaded with his family not to pay any ransom and demanded the Taliban apologise for detaining them.

Their son Jonathan has called on the White House to intervene after Hall was released last weekend following the Trump administration lifting bounties worth $10 million from the heads of senior Taliban figures including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister.

The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, having fallen in love with the country when they travelled there as students at Bath University. They got married in Afghanistan in 1970 and have two sons and two daughters after a third son died.

Jonathan said: ‘It’s now been over nine weeks since Mum and Dad were taken by the Taliban. Despite being told constantly that they are innocent, they still haven’t been released. Their American friend Faye Hall is now back with her family in the States.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, have been held captive for more than nine weeks in Afghanistan 's most notorious prison

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, have been held captive for more than nine weeks in Afghanistan ‘s most notorious prison

The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, having fallen in love with the country when they travelled there as students at Bath University The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, having fallen in love with the country when they travelled there as students at Bath University.

The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, having fallen in love with the country when they travelled there as students at Bath University

Their son Jonathan has called on the White House to intervene after Hall was released last weekend following the Trump (pictured) administration lifting bounties worth $10 million from the heads of senior Taliban figures

Their son Jonathan has called on the White House to intervene after Hall was released last weekend following the Trump (pictured) administration lifting bounties worth $10 million from the heads of senior Taliban figures

They got married in Afghanistan in 1970 and have two sons and two daughters after a third son died

They got married in Afghanistan in 1970 and have two sons and two daughters after a third son died

‘The hardest part for Mum and Dad will be that this is the longest they’ve gone without speaking to each other since they became sweethearts in the 1960s.

‘We are able to talk to Dad several times a week, and he keeps insisting that his (locked and barred cell) is the VIP suite – because he only has to share a toilet with his interpreter, and they have a bunk bed! 

‘He says they are given one meal a day, but he’s given extra food from the commanders table. He’s lost weight, and has had some health scares, but Dad can find light in the darkest of places.’

He and his interpreter, Juya, are allowed to leave their cell and call their families at a time when the rapists, murderers and ‘out of control’ prisoners are back in their cells.

‘While the guards scream at the other prisoners, they don’t ever shout at Dad. This is because he’s earned respect in a system that is terrifying and unpredictable,’ his son continued.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and wife Barbie Reynolds, 75, are being held by the Talban at Pul-e-Charkhi maximum security jail in Kabul

Peter Reynolds, 79, and wife Barbie Reynolds, 75, are being held by the Talban at Pul-e-Charkhi maximum security jail in Kabul

The couple were detained as they travelled back to their home in the country's Bamyan province on February 1 of this year

The couple were detained as they travelled back to their home in the country’s Bamyan province on February 1 of this year

Mr Reynolds said he was living in 'a cage rather than a cell' but said this was 'VIP' compared to where his wife is being held captive

Mr Reynolds said he was living in ‘a cage rather than a cell’ but said this was ‘VIP’ compared to where his wife is being held captive

‘Mum too has found a way to help those around her. She’s creating an informal programme for the women in prison to help them with spoken English. While they can read and write, they don’t know how to speak it. She’s showing a group how to instruct others when she’s not around anymore.

‘This is who our parents are! Mum and Dad are still true to themselves in the middle of this—loving people, keeping peace, and creating solutions in one of the very darkest, violent and most hopeless places in the world.’

He added: ‘We will continue to wait in hope that the Taliban will not only release them, but choose to work with them for the good of the country.

‘In the meantime, we couldn’t be prouder of them. We stand with them, cheering them on as they continue to love and support the people they are now imprisoned with, still without breaking any laws.’

Mr Reynolds recently described the prison as ‘the nearest thing to hell I can imagine’. 

In a recording of a phone call, he voiced fears for his wife who is being held in the women’s section of the prison.

The couple's visiting Chinese-American friend, Faye Hall, was released from Taliban jail at the end of March after the Trump administration lifted bounties worth $10 million from the heads of senior Taliban figures including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister

The couple’s visiting Chinese-American friend, Faye Hall, was released from Taliban jail at the end of March after the Trump administration lifted bounties worth $10 million from the heads of senior Taliban figures including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister

Their arrest was by ordered by a commander linked to the Haqqani network, a faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister (pictured)

Their arrest was by ordered by a commander linked to the Haqqani network, a faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister (pictured)

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A Taliban soldier attends a rally to celebrate the withdrawal of US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan on September 1, 2021

A Taliban soldier attends a rally to celebrate the withdrawal of US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan on September 1, 2021

Mr Reynolds said he was living in ‘a cage rather than a cell’ but said this was ‘VIP’ compared to where his wife is being held captive.

‘I’ve been joined up with rapists and murderers by handcuffs and ankle cuffs, including a man who killed his wife and three children, shouting away, a demon-possessed man,’ he said in recordings heard by The Sunday Times.

He said he had lost weight thanks to a single meal a day, usually naan bread and chickpeas with green tea for breakfast.

‘The atmosphere is pretty shocking. I am learning a lot about the underbelly of Afghanistan. The prison guards shout all the time and beat people with a piece of piping. It’s a horrible atmosphere — the nearest thing to hell I can imagine.’

A lawyer working for the European Union mission was allowed to bring him medicine last week after Reynolds ran out of the heart pills and beta blockers, which he needs after a mini-stroke last year. 

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