Canadian tourist held in Afghanistan since 2010 released

A Canadian who was held by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2010 has been released.

A Canadian man who was held hostage for more than five years in Afghanistan has been freed.

In a video released in May that year, Rutherford – then 26 – said he was in Afghanistan as a tourist and denied working for the Canadian government.

Several months after his capture, the Taliban released a video of Rutherford and threatened to try him for espionage.

In response to the video, the Canadian government acknowledged that Rutherford had travelled to Afghanistan as a tourist, noting that Canadians had been warned to avoid the country.

It was not immediately clear how his release came about, but Mr Dion thanked the government of Qatar for its assistance.

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“We look forward to Mr. Rutherford being able to return to Canada and reunite with his family and loved ones”, Dion said in a brief statement.

A Toronto man kidnapped by the Taliban in 2010 is now free, Global Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion says.

“This is great news”, Tim Peel, the company’s vice-president, said in an email.

Peel did not respond to questions about whether Rutherford’s job still exists.

During his efforts, Lieutenant Colonel Jason Amerine said he obtained information about Rutherford as well as United States national Warren Weinstein and others in captivity. Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook.

According to the statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Canada, Mr. Rutherford is still outside Canada. But an al-Qaida letter to the original kidnappers, obtained by The Associated Press in northern Mali in 2013, said it received $1 million for the pair.