‘Canadian Dave’ released from prison in Afghanistan

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said David Lavery, who is known in Kabul as Canadian Dave, has arrived in Qatar after being freed from a prison in Afghanistan.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in November that Lavery had been arrested by the Islamic Emirate shortly after landing in Kabul a few days earlier.

Lavery, who was a former member of Canada’s elite special forces, made it to Qatar from Afghanistan with the help of the Qatari government.

In a social media post on Sunday, Joly said she “just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits.”

Joly also thanked Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s foreign affairs minister, for “helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen.”

Canadian media reports cited an unnamed source as saying the Canadian government had contacted the government of Qatar for assistance securing Lavery’s release.

Qatari mediators co-ordinated with senior Canadian officials and used contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to assess Lavery’s condition and provide care while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family, the source said.

Finally, the source said, Lavery underwent a medical assessment upon his arrival in Doha and is now with his family.

The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on his release .