Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor, was kidnapped in Afghanistan in January 2020.
Bashir Noorzai, center, a senior Taliban detainee held at Guantanamo attends his release ceremony, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 19, 2022. Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and that he was the last Taliban prisoner there.
“I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us. Our family has prayed for this each day of the more than 31 months he has been a hostage. We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us,” said a statement from the sister, Charlene Cakora. Frerichs, abducted on Jan. 31, 2020, was last seen in a video distributed earlier this year, pleading for his release so that he can be reunited with his family, according to a recording posted by The New Yorker magazine at the time.
Videos of hostages are sometimes released to show proof that they are alive and to facilitate negotiations for a release, though it was not immediately clear if that was the case here. The New Yorker said it obtained the clip from an unidentified individual in Afghanistan.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lombard man Mark Frerichs, held hostage by Taliban, released in prisoner swapA Lombard man who has been held captive for more than two years has been released after a prisoner swap with the Taliban, ABC News reports.
Read more »
Chicago-area contractor Mark Frerichs freed by Taliban in swap, family saysThe family of a U.S. veteran and civilian contractor Mark Frerichs, held more than 2 years in Afghanistan by Taliban, said on Monday that he has been freed by the Taliban.
Read more »
US contractor Mark Frerichs released by Taliban, reports sayAmerican contractor Mark Frerichs has been released by the Taliban after nearly two years of being held as a prisoner.
Read more »
Taliban Free US Hostage Mark Frerichs in Exchange for Afghan Drug LordA senior Taliban detainee held for years at Guantanamo Bay said Monday he was released and handed over earlier in the day to the Taliban in Kabul, in exchange for an American prisoner held in Afghanistan.
Read more »
Taliban: US, Afghanistan have completed a prisoner exchangeUS Navy veteran Mark Frerichs and Afghan Taliban associate Bashar Noorzai have been swapped in a prisoner exchange between the two countries, according to a Taliban minister.
Read more »
American contractor freed by Taliban in swap after 2 years, his family saysMark Frerichs’ release came as an imprisoned Taliban drug lord also said he had been freed from American custody.
Read more »