A general view shows the city of Kabul on Oct. 14, 2024.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
David Lavery, a former Canadian soldier who has been detained in Afghanistan, has over the past three years performed humanitarian work in that country with proper documentation and with Taliban awareness of his presence, a Canadian organization that works with him says.
The organization, a national charity based in British Columbia called the Veterans Transition Network, said in a statement late Monday that Mr. Lavery disappeared at the Kabul airport on Nov. 11. The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday that a Canadian government source had said Mr. Lavery was arrested by the Taliban’s intelligence service and security forces. The source, whom The Globe is not naming because they were not authorized to discuss the matter under privacy laws, was unable to say what had led to Mr. Lavery being detained.
The VTN said it began working with Mr. Lavery in 2021, after the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan, and that he provided humanitarian aid and migration assistance to Afghans eligible for resettlement in Canada.
“Dave has always travelled into Afghanistan using appropriate documentation issued by the Afghan government, which was aware of Dave’s presence and his work assisting migrants travelling to Canada over the past three years,” VTN chief executive Oliver Thorne said in the statement.
“The VTN is deeply concerned about the well-being of David Lavery, known to all those he helped as ‘Canadian Dave,’” Mr. Thorne added.
“The VTN has been in contact with Global Affairs Canada and trusts that the Canadian government is working to ensure Dave’s safety and his quick return. The VTN will continue to offer any assistance we can to bring Dave home.”
In Question Period on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the government is aware of the situation, but that she couldn’t share more information for confidentiality reasons. “We will take every single measure to bring him home,” she said.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters at a news conference during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Peru that Canada is taking the situation “very, very seriously.”
He said the government was providing consular assistance to Mr. Lavery’s family, but wouldn’t comment further, citing operational and privacy reasons.
Mr. Lavery has a private company, Raven Rae Consultancy Services, which says on its website that it focuses on humanitarian aid, life support, and safety and security management for governmental and non-governmental organizations and development groups. It was headquartered in Kabul for 10 years, but relocated to Dubai in August, 2021, after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The company maintained its presence in Afghanistan by training locals to support its work, according to its website. The VTN statement notes that Mr. Lavery is a husband and father.