75, were returning to their home in Bamiyan on February 1st when they were detained. The couple have been running training projects in Afghanistan for 18 years and their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told The Sunday Times that "they were just trying to help the country they loved". It is not known exactly what the couple were arrested for but projects run by the couple include one training mothers and children, which had apparently been approved by the local authorities despite a ban by the Taliban on women working and on education for girls older than the age of 12.

The couple, who originally met at the University of Bath, married in Kabul in 1970. Since 2009 they have been running training projects in five schools in Kabul and one project in Bamiyan training mothers and children. While the Taliban's return to power in August 2021 saw most of their staff leave – along with most westerners – Mr and Mrs Reynolds insisted on staying put. Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, who lives in Daventry, Northamptonshire, told the Sunday Times: "They said they could not leave when Afghans were in their hour of need.

"They were meticulous about keeping by the rules even as they kept changing." After their arrest, the couple were initially able to keep in touch with their four children by text message. The family knew that their parents were "being held by the interior ministry" and were assured by them that they were "fine". Three days later, however, the texts stopped. The children have heard nothing since.

Their daughter told the Times: "My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and [he] needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke. They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are being held because they were teaching mothers with children is outrageous."