OTTAWA—Colin Colin Rutherford’s five years as a prisoner have ended.

The federal government made the surprise announcement Monday that Rutherford, who was 26 years old when he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2010, has been released.

“Canada is very pleased that efforts undertaken to secure the release of Colin Rutherford from captivity have been successful,” Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said in a short statement.

“We look forward to Mr. Rutherford being able to return to Canada and reunite with his family and loved ones.”

In a statement sent to the Star, Rutherford’s brother Brian voiced appreciation for his brother’s release.

This is the video of Canadian hostage Colin MacKenzie Rutherford released by the Taliban on May 8th 2011. He is being held as an alleged spy.

“At this point, I don’t have much more to add to what’s already been released apart from expressing my deepest gratitude to all those whose efforts have resulted in this wonderful outcome,” he said.

It’s been a long wait for Colin Rutherford’s family. Months after his disappearance, Rutherford appeared in a video shot by his captors, who claimed to be with the Taliban. But little has been heard about his status since, until Ottawa’s out of the blue announcement Monday.

Global Affairs Canada did not provide further details about the specifics behind Rutherford’s release. The federal government is typically tight-lipped about efforts to free Canadian hostages.

Rutherford’s mother, Wendy Rutherford, deferred requests for comment to Global Affairs.

“I have no comment at the moment,” she told the Star when reached by phone at her Toronto home.

Dion did, however, thank the government of Qatar for their assistance in securing Rutherford’s freedom. It’s not clear what assistance Qatar provided. Dion met with Qatar’s ambassador to Canada, Fahad Mohammed Yousif Kafood, last week at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“During the meeting, they discussed bilateral ties and issues of common concern as well as means to promote co-operation between the two countries in different spheres,” Qatar’s government information office wrote a short statement.

A call to Qatar’s embassy in Ottawa was not returned Monday afternoon.

Rutherford travelled from his home in Toronto to Kabul on vacation in 2010. The University of Toronto graduate told a former co-worker he hoped to pick up some of the Pashto language on the trip.

In the video released by the Taliban in 2011, Rutherford said he was captured by the militant group in the eastern Afghan city of Ghazni shortly after arriving.

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“I was apprehended the second day after arriving in Ghazni,” he said, and stated he was in Afghanistan as a tourist to visit historical sites, old buildings and shrines.

The Taliban, however, accused him of spying for Canada and threatened to bring him up on espionage charges unless their unspecified demands were met. In the video, Rutherford denied working for Ottawa.

When his captors asked him how they were treating him, Rutherford said “humanely.”

In late 2011, Rutherford’s mother and brother, Brian, directly appealed to his captors to speak with them.

“My goal is to get Colin home,” Wendy told CBC news.

“Qatar has good contacts, I think, into Afghanistan, particularly if the Taliban had been involved with this,” Pardy said Monday.

“The Qataris would be about as good as anyone to approach to get something done in Afghanistan, would be my guess. Whether there was something done in return for that, again, nobody will probably say anything definite on it.”

Adam Barrett, a spokesperson for Dion’s office, declined to comment.

“Out of respect for Mr. Rutherford’s privacy, and as the department does not comment on the specifics of security operations, we cannot provide any additional information on this case,” Barrett wrote in an email to the Star.

Rutherford was on vacation from his new job as a media auditor at the Canadian Circulations Audit Board in Toronto when he was kidnapped.

“We were delighted to read of Colin’s release,” Tim Peel, vice-president of CCBA BPA Worldwide, said in a statement Monday. “This is great news. We wish him a safe and speedy return and would like to thank all the parties involved in securing his freedom.”

With files from Jacques Gallant

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