Colin Rutherford

VOA News
January 11, 2016

The Taliban has freed a Canadian it held hostage in Afghanistan for at least five years.

“Canada is very pleased that efforts undertaken to secure the release of Colin Rutherford from captivity have been successful,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Monday. “We look forward to Mr. Rutherford being able to return to Canada and reunite with his family and loved ones.”

Dion said Canada sends its “heartfelt thanks” to the government of Qatar, which helped secure Rutherford’s freedom.

Details on how and where Rutherford was released are unavailable. It is also unclear where Rutherford is now.

Rutherford went to Afghanistan in 2010, and the Taliban released a video of him in captivity in 2011.

The Taliban accused Rutherford of spying. But in the video, Rutherford said he was a tourist interested in “history and historical sites, old buildings, shrines.”