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Taliban Releases U.S. Engineer Mark Frerichs In Prisoner Swap [1]

["Rfe Rl'S Radio Azadi"]

Date: 2022-09

The Taliban has released U.S. engineer Mark Frerichs in exchange for Washington freeing a senior Taliban figure.

U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed in a statement on September 19 the release of Frerichs and said he "will soon be home."

An unnamed senior administration official said earlier that Biden had granted clemency to Taliban figure Haji Bashir Noorzai in exchange for the release of Frerichs.

Noorzai, who spent 17 years in U.S. government custody, was a financial supporter of the Taliban during its first period in power in the 1990s.

He was arrested in 2005 and charged with smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2009.

Biden said bringing the negotiations that led to Frerichs' release to a resolution required difficult decisions, which he said he "did not take lightly."

The release of Frerichs was "the culmination of years of tireless work by dedicated public servants across our government and other partner governments," Biden said, and he thanked them for their efforts.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Frerichs' release was "the result of intense [American] engagement with the Taliban."

Acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told journalists at a news conference in Kabul that Frerichs was exchanged at Kabul Airport early on September 19 in return for Noorzai.

"Today, Mark Frerichs was handed over to the United States and Haji Bashir was handed over to us at Kabul airport," Muttaqi said.

Noorzai was a financial supporter of the Taliban during their first period in power in the 1990s.

He was arrested in 2005 in the United States and charged with smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2009.

After his release, Noorzai was welcomed at Kabul airport by Taliban forces with flowers.

Frerichs is an engineer and U.S. Navy veteran who worked in Afghanistan for a decade on development projects. He was abducted in February 2020.

"I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us," said a statement from Frerichs' sister, Charlene Cakora.

Biden said the United States "continues to prioritize the safe return of all Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, and we will not stop until they are reunited with their families."

This includes work to free Americans held in Burma, Haiti, Russia, Venezuela, and elsewhere, Biden acknowledged in the statement.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

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