Released Taliban prisoner from Horncastle area tells of his ordeal

It’s fair to say it’s been a trying 12 months for Peter and his wife Hassina Syed.

Hassina, a political activist, was one of thousands of British nationals forced to flee Afghanistan in August 2021 when the Taliban seized power of the country (you can read her story here).

And then at the end of last year, her husband Peter was imprisoned in Afghanistan while he was working there.

He was finally released on June 27, and now Peter and Hassina have spoken exclusively to the Horncastle News from their home near Woodhall Spa of their pain and struggles over this past year.

Peter was working on a project looking into mineral deposits in the area at the time.

"This was the biggest challenge because of the sheer number of people trying to leave the country,” Peter said, “The Americans had 80,000 people register in two weeks trying to leave.”

The day he was detained, Peter was viewing a house that he was looking to rent in the area for the short term, and the next door neighbour questioned his identities and the authorities mistook him for British Intelligence.

He was escorted by guards to a nearby hotel and then to a detention centre owned by the Afghan Intelligence Service, where he was taken to a cellar room, and that was he was kept for six months.

Peter said: “They found no evidence against us of course, it took them two months to look for evidence and found there wasn’t anything.

"The previous regime would have manufactured evidence against us, but the Taliban didn’t do that.”

The conditions in the prison were quite good, as with Afghan culture with heaters placed in their room, as well as thick mattresses, pillows, blankets and carpeted floor and the guards treated the prisoners – five Brits including Peter, a British Afghan and US Afghan – well, and the food was also good.

"We were given the same food for every meal for six months,” Peter said, “It got quite monotonous after a while, but it would have been worse under the previous regime.”

The prisoners were also only allowed short allotted times in the fresh air – up to 30 minutes every week.

They also had to get creative to find ways to pass the time, as access to television wasn’t allowed, so Peter fashioned a chess set from his waistcoat and toilet paper.

The warden also gave them a chess set and Ludo set and played with them: “We had to decide whether to let him win or not!” Peter said.

"We were desperate for news, we were told about the Russians invading Ukraine, and when we went to the toilet, the wardens were watching football and cricket on a big TV and the commentary was in English, which took our minds out of being in prison.”

In the meantime, Hassina was in regular contact with the Foreign Office trying to secure her husband’s release, while trying to keep the worst of the situation from their three daughters:

"It was a huge shock when he was taken, the biggest of my life,” she said, “When I was in that situation, I was fine with it because I knew I would help myself, but I was completely powerless here – it was so difficult.”

A petition had also been started by Adam Kelleher to get Peter and the others safely home.

Peter said he knew that they would not be detained forever, as the Afghans had made a mistake in arresting them and as the UK and US governments cannot legally pay ransoms, it would be in their benefit to free them.

"Afghans are always told “don’t kidnap Brits or Americans” because those governments don’t pay,” Peter said, “We can only speculate the circumstances as to why we were released.”

Finally, after six long months, Peter was taken into a cell with multiple cameras in and quizzed over how he was treated in the prison, and when Peter answered truthfully that he had been well-treated, the warden told him he and the other Brits would be released at 2pm the following day.

"We didn’t quite want to believe it,” Peter said, “We wondered if they were trying to trick us, but the next day we were given Western clothes to wear, as is custom, and we were taken quickly to the airport and got on a flight to Dubai.”

After a seven-hour wait, they were then flown to Heathrow, where their relieved families were waiting for them:

"I think Hassina had the hardest time,” Peter said, “I was treated quite well, but she was having to keep body and soul together while I was away.”

Hassina added: “It was so hard - for me, your husband should be with his family to help you and be there, and people would tell me “it’s up to you Hassina”, but I wanted Peter there and I felt I had no-one to confide in.”

After a joyful reunion, the couple drove home to their daughters – stopping for an Egg McMuffin at McDonalds on the way – and now have plans to spend a quiet summer holiday as a family, with a view to eventually returning to Afghanistan when Peter is officially recognised as being innocent.

Peter and Hassina have extended their thanks to Hugo Shorter, Lord Tariq Ahmed, Nigel Casey, Hamish Faulkner and James Belmonte at the Foreign Office who were instrumental in securing Peter’s freedom, as well as their neighbours Andrew and Clare Clarke for supporting the family through this tough time.

"We just want to get back to normal now,” Hassina said, “And go back to a semblance of normality.”