Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadian Armed Forces veteran David Lavery is "safe" in Qatar — months after a network that supports vets expressed concern that Lavery went missing in Afghanistan and was possibly detained by the Taliban government.
In a social media post, Joly said she "just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits."
Joly also thanked Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, for "helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen."
I just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan. He is in good spirits. <br><br>Thank you to my Qatari counterpart, <a href="https://twitter.com/MBA_AlThani_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MBA_AlThani_</a>, for helping facilitate the release of our Canadian citizen.
—@melaniejolyIn November, the Veterans Transition Network said they were "deeply concerned about the well-being of David Lavery, known to all those he helped as 'Canadian Dave.'"
The network's statement said Lavery disappeared from the Kabul airport on Nov. 11, 2024.
Since before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, Lavery had been working to provide aid and assistance to eligible Afghan migrants. The Veterans Transition Network noted in November that Lavery repeatedly travelled to Afghanistan for humanitarian work, and to lay wreaths at the Canadian monument in Kabul on Remembrance Day.
CBC News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for additional information.
