Afghanistan: Timothy Wicks, a former Taliban hostage who embraced Islam, died

He left life on Wednesday (09.01.2020), Australian professor Timothy Wickes, who was held hostage for 3 years by them, was released in 2019 but eventually returned to after Islam embraced. Timothy Wicks and his American colleague, Kevin King, were kidnapped in 2016 outside the American University in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, by armed Taliban wearing police uniforms. CORVERSE After 3 years of hostage, they were released in exchange for 3 senior Taliban officials who had been arrested by the Afghan authorities. “Unfortunately, Professor Timothy Wicks, later known as Gabriel Omar, died today after a long-term fight he was fighting with cancer,” says post of the Afghan Interior Ministry in X (former Twitter). Timothy Wicks embraced Islam after his release, changed his name and returned to Kabul in the summer of 2022, a year after the Taliban returned to power, broadcast the Australian ABC network. CORVERSE While in Kabul, Timothy said he “supports” the Taliban, whom he called his “brothers”, according to the report accompanied by a photograph of Timothy Wicks smiling surrounded by a Taliban. “He loved Afghanistan and Islamic emirate very much and that is why he chose to live in Kabul,” the Afghan interior ministry said. “He traveled to various provinces of Afghanistan and deepened his knowledge of Islam,” he complements and expresses his condolences to Australian relatives. Anas Haqqani, released in 2019 under the Agreement on the Liberation of Timothy Wickes and currently one of the top Taliban officials, rose on the platform X a picture of him with the Australian professor. 1/4 Thought Timothy Weeks and I came into this world in different times and distant places, fate brought us together at a crossroads where my death is being his, my life interwined with his, and his freedom became sine; together, we crossed through those red lights. — Anas Haqqani(اني سلاني) (@AnasHaqani313) “Even though Timothy Wickes and I came to the world in different times and distant places, fate brought us near a crossroads,” he wrote and praised the Australian who chose to leave his hometown to live near the Taliban.