Navy veteran and U.S. contractor Mark Frerichs is free after 2 1/2 years of captivity in Afghanistan under a prisoner swap personally approved by President Joe Biden, senior administration officials said Monday.
Biden agreed to commute the sentence of Bashir Noorzai, an Afghan who was convicted in 2008 of running a major heroin-smuggling operation. He had been in U.S. custody for 17 years.
“Bringing the negotiations that led to Mark’s freedom to a successful resolution required difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly,” Biden said in a statement, adding that his administration “continues to prioritize the safe return of all Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad” in Myanmar, Haiti, Russia, Venezuela, and elsewhere.
