Doha, Qatar— A Canadian ex-soldier arrested by the Taliban administration in Afghanistan was released on Sunday after more than two months in prison in a deal negotiated by Qatar, according to an AFP source. David Lavery was captured by Taliban officials in Kabul in November 2024, having made headlines three years prior for assisting in the evacuation of Afghans after the withdrawal of US and coalition forces from the nation. “Lavery has been released from Afghanistan and is now in Doha, Qatar,” the source said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations, adding that his release “was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar.”

“Qatari mediators coordinated with senior Canadian officials and utilized their contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to Kabul to assess Lavery’s condition and provide care, while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family,” a source informed me. “After a breakthrough in the talks, Mr. Lavery is now in Doha with his family. “Upon his arrival, he underwent a medical examination,” the source continued. In 2021, Lavery assisted an estimated 100 Afghans fleeing Kabul following the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

He served in the Canadian military for decades and was claimed to be a major member of the country’s elite Joint Task Force 2 special operations outfit. Lavery is said to have recently run a private security agency in Kabul. The former soldier’s release comes after the Taliban leadership freed two American citizens from prison last week in exchange for an Afghan combatant held in the United States, in another agreement negotiated by Qatar. Ryan Corbett, who had been captured in 2022, and William McKenty were released in exchange for Khan Mohammed, who was found guilty of narco-terrorism by a US court. The Afghan foreign ministry described Mohammed as “an Afghan fighter” who had been “imprisoned in America.” Two other American citizens are believed to remain in detention in Afghanistan, former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalized American Mahmood Habibi.

Gas-rich Qatar received Taliban delegates during years of peace talks with the US leading up to the 2021 pullout, and has recently held rounds of Afghan conversation, which the Taliban officials will join in June 2024.