Following more than two years in captivity in Afghanistan, Mark Frerichs was finally able to return home to the United States last week, thanks to a prisoner swap orchestrated by the Biden administration.
Haji Bashir Noorzai, a vital figure of the Taliban who had been imprisoned in the United States for 17 years on drug smuggling charges, was granted a pardon in exchange for the release of Frerichs.
This is the same Noorzai who was allegedly on a secret “kill” list maintained by a major U.S. agency.
Haji Bashir Noorzai, a prominent member of the Taliban who had been in an American prison for 17 years on drug-trafficking charges, is to be granted clemency. https://t.co/dtNekGhLw8 pic.twitter.com/lQh92uwAuk
— Newsmax (@newsmax) September 27, 2022
Frerichs, a U.S. Navy veteran who had worked as a government contractor in Afghanistan for over a decade, disappeared in January 2020, possibly at the hands of the Haqqani network, which has ties to the Taliban.
The Biden presidency bargained the terms for the return of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed five months prior to Frerichs’ release. Read more