Russian Citizen Pavel Demchenko Freed from Taliban Detention, Embassy Says

The Russian Embassy in Kabul stated that Pavel Demchenko, a Russian citizen previously reported detained in Afghanistan, is now free.

Russia's state news agency TASS reported Monday, citing the embassy, that "Russian Federation citizen Pavel Demchenko is free."

Some media had earlier reported Demchenko's arrest in Nangarhar province on suspicion of espionage, followed by his transfer to Kabul. TASS provided no details on the purpose of his trip to Afghanistan.

In recent years, the number of Russian tourists visiting Afghanistan has increased. Previously, another Russian, ethnologist Svyatoslav Kaverin, was detained by the Taliban on suspicion of smuggling antiquities. Kaverin, affiliated with the Paleovatanographic Research Center and the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Oriental Studies, was arrested in Kunduz on July 19 last year on charges of attempting to smuggle jewelry and held for about a month and a half before his release in Asad.

Taliban officials have not officially commented on Demchenko's release.