"I feel like you have abandoned me."

These were the words of Australian English teacher Timothy Weeks as he spoke in a video message recorded by his Taliban captors in June 2017.

Key points: Mr Weeks had been teaching English in Kabul for less than a month when he was captured

Mr Weeks had been teaching English in Kabul for less than a month when he was captured US SEALs tried to free the hostages but they had already been moved to another location

US SEALs tried to free the hostages but they had already been moved to another location Australia, as well as the US, Canada and the UK, have a no-ransom policy

More than three years after he and his American colleague Kevin King were kidnapped at gunpoint, Mr Weeks was freed in a highly-anticipated planned prisoner exchange announced by the Afghan Government.

Mr Weeks, 50, and Mr King, 63, were exchanged for three high-profile Taliban prisoners.

The two teachers were captured on their way home from the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul in August 2016, but few Australians were aware of their plight until this year.

Mr Weeks and Mr King were to be exchanged for high-profile Taliban prisoners, held by Afghan forces. ( AFP: Noorullah Shirzada )

Besides a statement in 2017 that the Australian Government was "working to secure the release of an Australian man in Afghanistan", very little was publicly said, and no public campaigns by the family or otherwise were launched.

Here is what we know about Mr Weeks's capture — and why the public is often left in the dark regarding hostage situations.

What happened to Timothy Weeks and Kevin King?

A screenshot of Mr Weeks from a video released by the Taliban in June 2017. ( Supplied: YouTube )

Very little is known about Mr Weeks's private life back in Australia before the teacher — originally from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales — was kidnapped in 2016.

He had been teaching high-level English at the American University of Afghanistan for less than a month when the two men were kidnapped — Mr King had been teaching English at the university since 2014.

Days after their initial kidnapping, then US-president Barack Obama ordered a secret night-time mission by Navy SEALs to free the captives, raiding a militant hideout and killing seven people in a gun battle, but the hostages had already been moved to another location.

In January and June of 2017, the Taliban released two videos with two men identified as Mr Weeks and Mr King.

In the first video, Mr Weeks was seen pleading with the American Government and the university he had worked for to negotiate with his captors.

"The people who promised to take care of us and to help us when something went wrong have forsaken their promise," said the teacher from Wagga Wagga.

"We are here with no help, and with no hope."

Mr Weeks, who appeared haggard and emotional, became tearful when speaking of his family.

A man identified as Mr King in a June 2017 video appeared to have deteriorated in health. ( Supplied: YouTube )

"My mother, I know you are sick in hospital and I may never see you again," he said.

"I don't want to die here — I'm alone and I'm scared and I don't have anybody to help me."

Then in June 2017, after 10 months of captivity, Mr Weeks appeared in a second video, looking in better health, but this time pleading with then-Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to negotiate his release.

Mr Weeks maintained in the video that he was being treated well, given food, medicine and tea, and allowed to shower.

A poster released by the FBI. ( Supplied )

However, in the second video, viewers noted Mr King did not appear to be well and was much more soft spoken.

"We just want to go home," Mr King said, with Mr Weeks appearing tearful and distressed by his side.

The Taliban had repeatedly warned Mr King was experiencing "dangerous" heart and kidney problems.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani noted in a speech announcing the planned exchange that the two men's "health had been deteriorating while in the custody of the terrorists".

Following the men's capture, the American University of Afghanistan issued a statement from its acting president, David Sedney.

"Kevin and Tim came to Afghanistan as teachers, to help Afghanistan," Mr Sedney said.

"These innocent people have done nothing to harm anyone and need to be reunited with their family, friends and colleagues."

Why did we hear so little about the case?

Diane Foley, whose son was captured and killed by Islamic State militants in 2014, told the ABC most hostage cases aren't made public. ( AFP: Remko de Waal )

In the second video, Mr Weeks begged his family and friends to make his case public.

"I beg you, I ask you, I implore you to go the media," he said.

"Please make the public aware of this situation. I feel like nobody cares about me."

The ABC reached out to Mr Weeks's family following the announcement, but they declined to comment on the situation.

Diane Foley, the mother of journalist James Foley who was executed by Islamic State in Syria in 2014, told the ABC most hostage situations never become public.

Journalist James Foley at work in the Syrian city of Aleppo back in August 2012. ( Supplied: Nicole Tung, file )

"Normally, the public has no idea how often Westerners are targeted," she said.

"But hostage taking is very lucrative and can create all kinds of power plays and shifts in power dynamics."

The Foley family launched the James W Foley Legacy Foundation within weeks of his death to campaign for changes to US government hostage polices and provide support to families of captives.

She told the ABC she had since become aware of hundreds of cases of US citizens being illegally detained each year by foreign governments or militant groups, adding that only a handful of cases ever became known to the public.

"I think [families] tend to go public when they're getting desperate, but often not in the beginning," she said.

"Particularly if they have a corporation behind them [an employer], a security team, or some other method [keeping them] hopeful of getting them out."

A hostage negotiator who had worked on around 100 hostage cases, including 15 in Afghanistan, told the ABC media silence "allows you to focus all your energy on solving the case".

"As soon as it's made public, you are spending a tremendous amount of energy dealing with that," he said, adding that publicity can sometimes hinder negotiations by "increasing the value of the victim".

"I am yet to see a case where [a hostage situation] got solved quicker because there was media involvement."

How do the Taliban treat hostages?

Negotiations with Taliban leaders are most often about political leverage rather than payments. ( Reuters: Evgenia Novozhenina )

The hostage negotiator — who could not be named due to his involvement with ongoing cases — told the ABC that as far as kidnappers go, the Taliban tended to treat hostages better than most.

"I cannot think of a single case, either with female or male where they were using violence, torture, sexual assault, anything like that. It's just not the way the Afghans do it."

He described the Taliban as "pragmatic" people who "don't use excessive violence" with captives without reason.

"They might have been blindfolded for a period of time, and they might have been tied up," he said.

"But eventually, they might also have been given the privilege to go outside and cook their own food."

He added that negotiations with the group are most often about political leverage rather than payments, and the execution of hostages is not their normal practice.

But while criminal groups will generally seek to cut a deal within weeks, a Taliban negotiation often stretches into years.

"They will go for the long term if they see there's an upside for it, which is quite contrary to pretty much anyone else you're negotiating with," he said.

That said, the hostage negotiator expressed confidence that, for Mr Weeks, a deal would eventually be reached, and the delay was most likely due to a breakdown in trust.

But the Taliban knew if they hold out long enough, a deal will be reached, he said.

"It's not really rocket science, if you just have the patience, and if you apply the pressure long enough, something is going to happen."

'Australian Government does not pay ransoms'

While criminal groups will generally seek to cut a deal within weeks, negotiations with the Taliban often take years. ( AP )

Australia — as well as the US, Canada and the UK — has a no-ransom policy, unlike some European countries — like France or Germany — who are more willing to be more open to negotiation and ransom payments.

According to the Parliament of Australia's website, Canberra's "response to kidnapping situations varies according to the specific details of each case and location".

"The underlying policy, however, is clear: the Australian Government does not pay ransoms.

"The no-ransom policy is standard across all our major international consular partners and many other countries as well, on the basis that paying ransom would encourage other kidnappings."

The stance, however, remains controversial and a topic of debate.

When Islamic State militants swept through Iraq and Syria capturing many hostages along the way, many European journalists and aid workers were released in deals brokered by their local governments, while many American and British captives were executed.

Mrs Foley told the ABC her family and others were threatened with prosecution over attempts to raise money for ransom payments.

"We had been treated very badly," Mrs Foley said.

"Jim had been really abandoned, as had the other US hostages. We were lied to we were led around. We were really treated very shabbily."

Detailing Australia's policy on how to respond to kidnappings, the Parliament's website adds that with "international kidnapping cases, the Australian Government is bound to respect the sovereignty of the state in which the kidnapping takes place".

"This will mean that the Government is often limited to pursuing the release of an Australian hostage through diplomatic channels and through assistance to local authorities.

"The degree to which Australian government agencies can become involved on the ground, and the range of actions open to them, will differ from cases to case and country to country."

In response to questions regarding Mr Weeks's case and Australia's no-ransom policy, a spokesperson for DFAT told the ABC that while they had "never stopped pressing" for the release of the two men.