American hostage freed by Taliban in prisoner swap for Afghan leader

by Zach Schonfeld and Brett Samuels - 09/19/22 7:43 AM ET

Bashir Noorzai, center, a senior Taliban detainee held at Guantanamo attends his release ceremony, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and that he was the last Taliban prisoner there. Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Monday that the released American was Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Mark Frerichs, an American hostage held by the Taliban for more than two years, was freed on Monday as part of a prisoner swap for a Taliban leader who had been convicted of drug trafficking.

The White House announced Frerichs’s release on Monday morning, with President Biden calling it “the culmination of years of tireless work by dedicated public servants across our government and other partner governments.”

Biden spoke with Frerichs’s sister to share news of his impending release. Biden did not specify the terms of his release, only referencing that the negotiations required “difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly.”

A senior administration official confirmed that Frerichs’s release was part of a prisoner swap for a Taliban drug lord, Bashir Noorzai, who was imprisoned by the United States for smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin.

Biden made the decision in June to grant clemency to Noorzai “if that meant bringing an American home,” a senior administration official said, clarifying that Noorzai was never a detainee at the Guantánamo Bay prison.

Frerichs, a veteran and civilian contractor, worked in Afghanistan for a decade as an engineer before being abducted in early 2020. U.S. officials had steadfastly maintained that Frerichs had done nothing wrong and called for his release.

Biden also tied Frerichs’s release to the Taliban’s recognition. The group regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as Biden completed the U.S. withdrawal from the country.

“Since then, we raised Mark’s case with the Taliban at every opportunity,” a senior administration official said. “And we reminded them that Mark had done nothing wrong.”

Frerichs’s family previously indicated the U.S. government wanted to trade Frerichs’s release for an individual imprisoned for 17 years. Noorzai was arrested 17 years ago in 2005.

Biden is also facing pressure to secure the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, both of whom are detained in Russia. He met with Griner’s and Whelan’s families on Friday.

Updated at 10:04 a.m.

Tags Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi Antony Blinken Joe Biden Mark Frerichs prisoner swap Taliban