Three British men, including “danger tourist” Miles Routledge, 23, and a charity worker, 53, are being held by the Taliban’s secret police in Afghanistan since January 2023, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday. The UK’s Home Office has confirmed negotiations are underway with the Taliban to release the three Britons.
Kevin Cornwell, charity worker, was arrested in a raid in his hotel by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) in charge of having a handgun in his room in January 11. According to his family, he had been granted a license for the handgun by the Taliban authorities.
The Newspaper added that Mr. Cornwell was working as medic for a healthcare organization and he had been in the country for 11 months. Along with him, the Taliban has also detained the hotel’s manager, a British national whose name was not published in the report upon his family’s request.
These two British nationals have been held in a rescue unit for foreign nationals run by the Taliban GDI without any charges, and they have not been granted legal representation.
The other British man being held is “danger tourist” Males Routledge, 23, who boasts to his thousands of followers online that he travels “to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun”. According to the newspaper, Mr. Routledge has made several trips to Afghanistan, Ukraine and war-torn Sudan in the past years.
The Sky News reported on Sunday that the British government is “in negotiations” with the Taliban to release these three Britons from the group’s custody.
The UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman told Sky News that “if there are risks to people’s safety, if they’re a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they are safe.” The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises UK citizens against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks involved, including the possibility of detention by the Taliban.
