Aussie hostage Timothy Weeks released by Taliban touches down in Australia

NSW teacher Timothy Weeks has touched down in Australia after a prisoner swap freed him from three years in Taliban captivity.

Australian academic Timothy Weeks is back home in Australia after being released by the Taliban in a prisoner swap last week.

Mr Weeks, a teacher from Wagga Wagga in NSW, was freed from custody in Afghanistan along with his American colleague Kevin King, three years after they were abducted at gunpoint.

The 50-year-old arrived at Sydney Airport late on Thursday night after being transferred from a US military base in Germany.

Australian professor Timothy Weeks and his American colleague Kevin King.

“I am very pleased to confirm that Tim has been returned to Australia,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne told ABC radio.

“I’ve spoken to Professor Weeks, it was a special conversation, and one I’ve been hoping to have for some time.”

Mr Weeks and Mr King, 63, were grabbed outside the American University in Kabul in 2016 and released in exchange for three members of the Taliban.

The pair were handed over to US forces in southern Afghanistan and flown out of the country by chopper to receive medical care.

Their freedom came hours after the Afghan government freed the three Taliban prisoners. They included Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of Taliban deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani who also leads the fearsome Haqqani network.

Wagga Wagga mayor Greg Conkey said it was “fantastic news” that he had finally been set free.

“As a community, as a city, we’re delighted that he has been released after all this time,” Mr Conkey said.

“It’s hard to imagine what he has suffered during these last three years.”

“The family has been extremely supportive, and what they’ve gone through has been obviously very incredible as well, there’s a lot of stress that the family has suffered.” “Hopefully, he’ll be given the time that he requires to recover from this ordeal.”

Timothy Weeks before his capture.

The FBI released these images in 2016.

Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Weeks had endured “three years of absolute hell” but was in good spirits.

“Tim is in a safe place, he’s out, and he’s coming home,” Mr Morrison told reporters when news of their release broke.

“We look forward to that very, very much.”

Mr Weeks’ family said they were grateful for the Australian government’s role in securing his release, as well as the United States and Afghanistan.

“We thank our friends and extended family for their love and support over the past three years during this very difficult time,” the family said in a statement said.

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In 2017 Weeks and King featured in two Taliban-issued videos.

One in January depicted them pale and gaunt, while in the later, the two men looked healthier and said a deadline for their release was set for June that year.

Both said they were being treated well but remained prisoners and appealed to their governments to help set them free.

It was impossible to know whether they were forced to speak.

US officials subsequently said American forces had launched a rescue mission but the captives were not found at the raided location.

The prisoner swap was intended to try to restart talks to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war and allow for the eventual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Originally published as Aussie hostage Timothy Weeks released by Taliban touches down in Australia