Australian Timothy Weeks released after years in Taliban captivity: report

An Australian man and his colleague detained by the Taliban since 2016 have been freed in a prisoner swap and handed over to US authorities,Three high-ranking Taliban prisoners released by Kabul were flown to Qatar to be exchanged for Australian Timothy Weeks, 50, and Kevin King, 63, both university professors who taught at the American University in Kabul.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a week ago announced the "conditional release" of the Taliban figures in exchange for Weeks and King, who were abducted in 2016 outside the American University in Kabul where they worked as teachers.An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said on Tuesday the decision had obviously been a difficult one but had been made by Ghani in good faith.

Weeks' parents declined to comment last week as the final negotiations took place, choosing to wait until he was secure in Australia.In January 2017, a video released by the Taliban to reporters showed the two men, appearing pale and gaunt, tearfully urging then-president-elect Donald Trump to intervene.

"If we stay here for much longer, we will be killed. I don't want to die here – I'm alone and I'm scared and I don't have anybody to help me.” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien made separate calls to Ghani on Monday to discuss the prisoners' release.

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