American held captive in Afghanistan for greater than 2 years is released in prisoner swap - CNN

CNN  — 

Mark Frerichs, an American held captive in Afghanistan for greater than two years, has been launched in a prisoner swap, a senior Biden administration professional validated Monday.

"Bringing Mark home has been a suitable precedence for President Biden and his national security team," the legitimate referred to.

Haji Bashir Noorzai, a favorite member of the Taliban, who turned into in reformatory in the US on drug trafficking charges for 17 years, became granted clemency as part of the deal, the respectable stated.

Frerichs, a Navy veteran from Illinois, was kidnapped in late January 2020 whereas he became doing building contract work in Afghanistan. He became believed to be held through the Haqqani community, which is a faction of the Taliban. He changed into lacking for under a month earlier than the united states signed a peace deal with the Taliban.

Frerichs turned into capable of stroll on his personal onto the aircraft, a supply established with the rely pointed out, and his actual and mental situation seem good. he is at the moment in Doha, Qatar.

Frerichs' household praised Biden for securing his liberate, with his sister, Charlene Cakora, announcing in an announcement, "there have been some folks arguing towards the deal that introduced Mark domestic, but President Biden did what was correct. He saved the life of an innocent American veteran."

"i am so satisfied to listen to that my brother is protected and on his manner domestic to us. Our family has prayed for this day after day of the greater than 31 months he has been a hostage," Cakora noted. "We not ever gave up hope that he would live to tell the tale and are available home safely to us."

earlier this yr, the new Yorker posted a video of Frerichs pleading for his free up – the primary time the Illinois native had been seen in years.

"I've been patiently waiting my free up," Frerichs says within the brief video, which he says is being recorded on November 28, 2021.

for the reason that her brother's kidnapping, Cakora has called on the united states govt to do greater to at ease his free up, escalating these calls in the lead-up to the USA withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

previous this year, the Biden administration secured the free up of Afghan-American Naval reservist Safi Rauf and his brother Anees Khalil, a US green card holder, who had been detained by using the Taliban due to the fact December.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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