Canadian tourist detained in Afghanistan since 2010 released

TORONTO – A Canadian who was held by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2010 has been released.

Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said in a statement Monday that efforts to secure the release of Colin Rutherford have been successful.

Rutherford was a tourist in Afghanistan when he was seized by the Taliban in November 2010.

The Taliban released a video of Rutherford in 2011 and accused him, then 26, of being a spy.

Rutherford insisted he was not a spy and had travelled to Afghanistan to study historical sites and shrines.

It was not immediately clear how he was released, but Dion thanked the government of Qatar for its assistance.