Freed Taliban hostage Timothy Weeks returns to Australia
Australian teacher Timothy Weeks has returned home to Australia after being held captive by the Taliban for more than three years.
50-year-old Weeks landed in Sydney on Thursday night after his release was secured as a part of a prisoner swap negotiated between the Taliban and the US, Australian and Afghan governments. According to the ABC, the swap was aimed at restarting talks to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war and allow the US troops to withdraw from the country.
Weeks and his 63-year-old American colleague Kevin King were freed on November 20 in exchange for three members of the Taliban.
He flew home after spending days at a US military base in Germany receiving medical care.
“I am very pleased to confirm that Tim has returned to Australia and very much welcome his return,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne told AM.
“It has been an extraordinarily long three years for him and for his family.”
Weeks and King were abducted at gunpoint in August 2016 outside the American University in Kabul, Afghanistan where they both worked as English teachers.
In one of the two videos released the following year, King and Weeks pleaded with the Australian and US governments to negotiate with the Taliban to secure their release by June 2017.
The Weeks family released a statement asking for privacy following his release.
“Our family is overjoyed that Tim has been released after more than three years in captivity,” the statement said. “We thank our friends and extended family for their love and support over the past three years during this very difficult time.
“While we understand the intense public interest in Tim’s release, we do not want to comment further. We ask that the media respect both our and Tim’s privacy. It is important that Tim now be given the time and space to start to come to terms with his experience.”