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Navy veteran Mark Frerichs released by Taliban in prisoner swap | USA TODAY

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September 19, 2022

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The Taliban released Navy veteran and civilian contractor Mark Frerichs during a prisoner swap after he was imprisoned in Afghanistan in 2020.

RELATEDOne year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. has secured the release of Mark Frerichs, an American contractor and Navy veteran abducted more than two years ago in Afghanistan. Biden said in a statement that he had spoken to Frerichs' sister and that Frerichs, who was said to be in stable health, would be home soon.

Frerichs was freed after the Biden administration struck a deal with the Taliban that allowed imprisoned drug lord and Taliban ally Haji Bashir Noorzai to return to Afghanistan. Noorzai revealed during a news conference in Kabul that he was part of a prisoner swap for an unnamed American, whom U.S. officials later identified as Frerichs.

Noorzai was in U.S. custody for 17 years after a conviction by a New York court for drug trafficking. In his statement confirming that Frerichs had been released, Biden indirectly acknowledged that the deal involved granting clemency to Noorzai, a member of the Taliban who was sentenced to life in prison for heroin importation, including trafficking large quantities into the United States.

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Guests & Subjects Covered

The TalibanMark FrerichsRELATED OneAfghanistan President Joe BidenAfghanistan BidenHaji Bashir NoorzaiAfghanistan NoorzaiFrerichs Noorzai

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Navy veteran Mark Frerichs released by Taliban in prisoner swap | USA TODAY · USA Today · Sentinel