A senior Biden administration official confirmed Monday that Mark Frerichs, an American held captive in Afghanistan for more than two years, was released in a prisoner swap.
Mark Frerichs: Released by Taliban in a prisoner swap
On Monday, a senior official from the Biden administration confirmed that Mark Frerichs was released by the Taliban in a prisoner swap. Frerichs is a Navy veteran from Illinois who was in Afghanistan for construction contracts. He was kidnapped in January 2020 and believed to be held by the Taliban’s faction, the Haqqani network. He was missing for less than one month before the peace deals. According to a source familiar with the matter, he was able to walk to the aircraft and appeared to be in good physical and mental condition. Frerichs is currently in Doha, Qatar.
“Bringing Mark home has been a top priority for President Biden and his national security team,” stated the official. “Haji Bashir Noorzai, a prominent member of the Taliban, who was in prison in the US on drug trafficking charges for 17 years, was granted clemency as part of the deal,” the official added.
“Honorable Haji Bashir was released after two decades of imprisonment and arrived in Kabul today,” confirmed Mohammad Naeem through a tweet. He is an Islamic Emirate’s Qatar-based political office spokesman.
More on the release
Earlier this year, The New Yorker shared a video of Frerichs pleading to be released. “I’ve been patiently waiting for my release,” he begged in the brief video. According to him, it was recorded on November 28, 2021. “I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us. Our family has prayed for this each day of the more than 31 months he has been a hostage,” stated Charlene Cakora, his sister. She has been calling on the US government and authorities to ensure his release.
“There were some folks arguing against the deal that brought Mark home, but President Biden did what was right. He also saved the life of an innocent American veteran. We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us,” she added. Earlier this year, the US government was successful in securing the release of Safi Rauf and Anees Khalil, his brother. Rauf is an Afghan-American Naval reservist and Khalil is a US green card holder. The duo was detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban since December 2021.
