Blinken briefs about Navy veteran's release from Afghanistan in prisoner swap with Taliban

After 2-long years of negotiations, US Navy veteran Mark Frerichs secured a release from Afghanistan in a prisoner swap deal with the Taliban in exchange for the famous tribal leader from southern Kandahar and a drug lord Bashir Noorzai—also known as Hajji Bashir. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday told reporters at a presser that Navy veteran Mark Frerichs " is safe and on his way home from Afghanistan."

Blinken informed that the US State Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans, particularly those detained in Kabul. "We will remain tireless in our efforts to seek the release of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained," Blinken stated.  he continued that many national security professionals across the government gave their all to this effort to get Mark out of captivity. This also includes United States' Qatari partners who, according to Blinken, were key in securing his release.

"I want the families of Americans who are being arbitrarily detained or held hostage anywhere in the world to know that our commitment to them in bringing their loved ones home is resolute and we will relentlessly continue to focus on doing just that," said Blinken. "We bring the same determination and focus to those efforts as we brought to the effort to bring Mark Frerichs out of captivity and home to his loved ones."

"I am grateful to our State Department team and to our broader national security professionals as well as to our partners in Qatar. Mark’s return to his loved ones is the result of intense engagement with the Taliban," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

Speaking at a press conference, Blinken reiterated that the Biden administration's commitment to bring Mark home never wavered and that it will never waver for the Americans held in captivity abroad. "His release is a testament to that priority and our around-the-clock work to reunite our citizens with their loved ones," said the US Secretary of State.

Deal 'required difficult decisions'

Taliban and the US negotiated a prisoner swap and the American navy veteran was traded in exchange for a key associate of the Taliban. Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi told the state press that US Navy veteran Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped in 2020 while working as a civil engineer, was released in exchange for the return of an Afghan druglord and a member of the Taliban Bashir Noorzai. 

US President Joe Biden on Monday said that the deal “required difficult decisions”, referring to the Talibani druglord who was jailed for nearly 17 years and six months in the US before he was released in a prisoner swap on Monday. The negotiations were fruitful more than a year after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021. President Biden told reporters in Washington that he had spoken with the family of the US Navy veteran informing them of Frerichs' release. He added that he hoped for a safe return for the engineer to the US.

“Our priority now is to make sure Mark receives a healthy and safe return and is given the space and time he needs to transition back into society,” Biden said. “We have much more work to do in many other cases, but Mark’s release demonstrates our enduring commitment.”

Taliban's Muttaqi meanwhile said, “Today, Mark Frerichs was handed over to the US and Haji Bashir was handed over to us at Kabul airport." The former informed that Noorzai was held in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, the controversial military prison where the US military carries out alleged violations of the legal rights of detainees under the Geneva Conventions by subjecting inmates to torture or abusive treatment. Biden's administration, although, refuted the claims. Noorzai, in a brief presser in Kabul alongside Taliban’s acting deputy prime ministers, stated that he was “proud to be in the capital of my country among my brothers”.