2 (EUROPA PRESS)
The UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, confirmed this Sunday that the British government is already negotiating with the Taliban for the release of the three Britons, including a doctor and a ‘youtuber’ specializing in travel, detained by the Taliban at earlier in the year in separate incidents.
Braverman, in an interview with Sky News, stated that “the Government is in negotiations and working hard to guarantee their safety” before asking the British to exercise “the utmost caution” before traveling to the Central Asian country.
“If they are going to do it, they should always act in accordance with the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, added the minister.
Those detained are the ‘youtuber’ Miles Routledge, who was evacuated from the country two years ago and who is now known for his risk tourism; humanitarian doctor Kevin Cornwell and a third British citizen, identified as Scott Richards.
This Sunday a spokesman for the NGO that helps Cornwell and Richards, Presidium Network, has revealed to Sky News that there has been contact between the detainees and the families. “We are pleased to announce that there has been communication between the families and the detainees,” the group said.
“They have been able to spend about ten minutes speaking this morning in an unscripted conversation, which is very important. It is a milestone and represents a key element for any negotiation with the Taliban because nothing like this has happened until now,” explained a Presidium Network spokesman Scott Richards told Sky News. “It is a gesture of goodwill, an incredibly important step,” he stressed.
Routledge, 23, has achieved some popularity — and controversy — after traveling to dangerous countries and posting about his trips on social media.
In August 2021, he was on a “vacation” in Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover of the capital, ending decades of war in the country. After being airlifted from Kabul he thanked the British Armed Forces.
Cornwell, 53, was arrested at his hotel by Taliban Intelligence Directorate agents on January 11 and is charged with illegal possession of firearms in his room safe. His family assures that he has a weapons license.
