Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadian armed forces veteran David Lavery is “safe” in Qatar – months after a network supporting vets raised concerns that Lavery went missing in Afghanistan and may be being held by the Taliban government.
The veterans group said in November that Lavery went missing in Afghanistan
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadian armed forces veteran David Lavery is “safe” in Qatar – months after a vet support network raised concerns that Lavery had gone missing in Afghanistan and may have been detained by the Taliban government.
In a social media post, Joly said she “just spoke to David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits.”
Joly also thanked Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani for “helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen.”
I have just spoken to David Lavery on his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in a good mood.
Thank you to my Qatari colleague, @Mba_althani_to help facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen.
In November, Veterans Transition Network said They were “deeply concerned for the welfare of David Lavery, known to all those he helped as ‘Canadian Dave.’
A statement from the network said Lavery disappeared from Kabul Airport on November 11, 2024.
Since before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, Lavery has worked to provide aid and assistance to eligible Afghan migrants. The Veterans Transition Network noted in November that Lavery had made multiple trips to Afghanistan for humanitarian work and had laid wreaths at the Canadian memorial in Kabul on Remembrance Day.
CBC News has reached out to Canada’s Global AwfAirs for more information.
With files from David Thurton
