An American Navy veteran who has been jailed in Afghanistan since 2020 was released Monday by the Taliban in exchange for an ally who had served 17 years in a US prison for smuggling heroin, the Afghan foreign minister said.
Mark Frerichs was working as a civil engineer on construction projects in Afghanistan when he was “taken hostage,” Washington previously said.
“After long negotiations, US citizen Mark Frerichs was handed over to an American delegation, and this delegation handed us over to us today at Kabul (Bashar Noorzai) Airport,” Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said at a news conference.
“We are delighted to witness the wonderful homecoming ceremony of one of our compatriots at Kabul International Airport in the capital of Afghanistan.”
Noorzai was greeted with heroic fanfare by the government of the newly formed Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
Photos show he was greeted with garlands of flowers by masked Taliban officials.
“If the IEA hadn’t shown their strong determination, I wouldn’t have been here today,” Noorzai told reporters at a news conference.
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan just over a year ago when the United States and its NATO allies withdrew from the country after 20 years of military intervention.
Since then, the nation has plunged further into economic and humanitarian hardship, with billions of Afghan assets abroad frozen by Washington and international aid severely reduced.
No country is yet to recognize the new government, and Washington has repeatedly told the Taliban they must “earn” their legitimacy.
– ‘Not negotiable’ –
The US State Department had previously described the Navy veteran’s release as one of the government’s “core, non-negotiable priorities”.
“The Taliban must release Mark immediately before they face any scrutiny of their legitimacy aspirations. This is non-negotiable,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement in January.
Noorzai, a warlord and Taliban ally, was sentenced to life in prison for heroin smuggling, having served 17 years.
He once fought with US-backed mujahideen forces against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and was a close associate of the group’s late founder, Mullah Omar.
At the time of his trial, US prosecutors said he ran a “worldwide drug network” and supported the first Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001.
“Today’s verdict definitely ends Noorzai’s long criminal career,” it said at the time.
Although he held no official position, Noorzai provided “strong support including arms” to the Taliban in the 1990s, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Monday.
