Taliban deny former Canadian captive’s claims of murder, rape

We strongly reject these fake and fabricated allegations of this Canadian family, says Taliban spokesman

PESHAWAR: The Afghan Taliban have rejected allegations from freed Canadian hostage Joshua Boyle that his captors had raped his wife and killed one of their infant children while the family was being held hostage.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, told media on Sunday that they never raped Boyle’s wife, Caitlan Coleman, and never even parted the pair from each other during the past five years that they were in captivity.

The Afghanistan-based spokesperson said the Taliban have a long history of jihad. “We have taken many foreigners hostage during our operations in the country and in the last three decades, but we have never allowed our commanders to violate the rule of jihad,” he said.



“We have harsh rules for all commanders, foot soldiers and followers – never endanger the life of minors, women and those who left their women during the fight,” he said, adding that Boyle’s claims were “baseless”.

Mujahid further claimed that the group had never raped any woman or man in their custody or hostages meant to be exchanged for Taliban prisoners “We strongly reject the claims of the hostage recently freed from the custody of the Haqqani network,” he added.



The spokesperson claimed that the freed couple’s minor child had died during custody because they were in a remote Afghan village, where they had no medical team at the camp or a female doctor in nearby cities.

“This is why the baby died during birth,” he said. “If we had killed her, why are the rest of the children still alive?”

Mujahid said that they had never parted the pair from each other and they lived like a family.



“In the last five years, we never recorded any complaints from them. Whatever they are saying now is under an evil design to defame the mujahideen and their struggle,’ he claimed.

The Candian-American couple and their two children were freed by the Pakistan Army earlier this week in an intelligence-based operation from Nawa Kali village near Kurram Agency along the Pak-Afghan border.

They were flown to Canada on Friday where Boyle told the media that one of his children had been murdered and his wife had been raped while in Taliban custody.