Freed Australian Timothy Weeks details hellish 1,200 days as a Taliban hostage in Afghanistan
- Teacher who spent three years in Taliban captivity speaks publicly for the first time since his release in November
- He believes US special forces tried to rescue him and American colleague Kevin King six times
Timothy Weeks, the Australian academic released by the Taliban in November after being kept hostage for more than three years, said on Sunday that hope helped him survive the ordeal.
The two were kidnapped in August 2016 outside Kabul’s American University of Afghanistan where they worked.
Speaking publicly for the first time since his release a visibly emotional Weeks said “after almost 1,200 days, our ordeal ended as abruptly as it had begun” and that the “long and tortuous ordeal” had a profound effect on him.
“At times, I felt as if my death was imminent and that I would never return to see those that I loved again,” Weeks said in Sydney in remarks televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“But, by the will of God, I am here. I am alive and I am safe. And I am free. There is nothing else in the world that I need.”
He said that he had never given up hope, although his freedom took longer than he expected.