DOHA: Canadian veteran David Lavery has been freed following his arrest in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Nov. 11 after mediation by Qatar, an official with knowledge of the release said on Sunday.
The circumstances surrounding Lavery’s arrest remain unclear. The Veterans Transition Network, where Lavery worked, said last year that he had frequently traveled to Afghanistan to carry out humanitarian work.
“Mr. Lavery’s release was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar, asking for their support given their past experience as mediators in Afghanistan,” the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Lavery is now in the Qatari capital, Doha, where he has undergone a medical assessment, the official said.
Canadian veteran released in Afghanistan after Qatari mediation, official says
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Canadian veteran released in Afghanistan after Qatari mediation, official says
- David Lavery is now in the Qatari capital, Doha, where he has undergone a medical assessment
Iranian president offers talks as protests spread
- Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would be set up and include talks with protest leaders
TEHRAN: Protests over Iran’s soaring cost of living spread to several universities on Tuesday, with students joining shopkeepers and bazaar merchants, semi-official media reported, as the government offered dialogue with demonstrators.
Iran’s rial currency has lost nearly half its value against the dollar in 2025, with inflation reaching 42.5 percent in December in a country where unrest has repeatedly flared in recent years and which is facing US sanctions and threats of Israeli strikes.
FASTFACTS
• The leadership acknowledges protests stem from economic pressure, promises monetary reforms.
• Iranian rial hits record low under the impact of Western sanctions.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post late that he had asked the interior minister to listen to “legitimate demands” of protesters.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would be set up and include talks with protest leaders.
“We officially recognize the protests ... We hear their voices and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people’s livelihoods,” she said on Tuesday in comments carried by state media.
Video of protests in Tehran showed scores of people marching along a street chanting “Rest in peace Reza Shah,” a reference to the founder of the royal dynasty ousted in the 1979 revolution.
Footage aired on Iranian state television on Monday showed people gathered in central Tehran chanting slogans. The semi-official Fars News Agency reported that hundreds of students held protests on Tuesday at four universities in Tehran.
