After spending two months in Taliban detention, American citizen Faye Hall has been released and is on her way home, according to former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.
In a statement on X, Khalilzad credited Qatar—Washington’s key mediator with the Taliban—for helping to secure her release.
Hall was detained in February alongside British couple Barbie and Peter Reynolds, both in their seventies, and their interpreter.
The Reynolds, who have lived in Afghanistan since the 1970s, ran training programs for women and girls and chose to stay after the Taliban regained control in 2021.
Afghan authorities have not publicly stated the reason for their arrest.
While Hall is now in Qatari care, the Reynolds remain imprisoned.
Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, has pleaded for their release, revealing that her 79-year-old father is in deteriorating health, suffering from multiple infections and allegedly enduring beatings.
“They stayed to help Afghans in need,” she told the Sunday Times, adding that they were always careful to follow the Taliban’s changing rules.
Hall’s release follows the Taliban’s recent decision to free another American, George Glezmann, after two years in custody.
These moves come amid the highest-level U.S.-Taliban talks since Trump’s return to office—though Washington’s long-term policy toward Afghanistan remains uncertain.
