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Friday February 07, 2025

Afghan Taliban government swaps prisoners with US

Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism by US court, returned to province on Tuesday

By AFP
January 22, 2025
Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad (centre) who was imprisoned in America, speaks to the media as he arrived in Jalalabad after he was released in exchange for American citizens — AFP/File
Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad (centre) who was imprisoned in America, speaks to the media as he arrived in Jalalabad after he was released in exchange for American citizens — AFP/File

KABUL: The Taliban government said Tuesday it had released two American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar.

Outgoing US president Joe Biden agreed on the deal shortly before leaving office on Monday, with the exchange finally taking place after Donald Trump returned to the White House, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

“An Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammed, imprisoned in America has been released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Mohammed had been serving a life sentence in California after being arrested “almost two decades ago” in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.

Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism by a US court, returned to the province on Tuesday, where he was greeted by a crowd and presented with garlands of flowers.

He told journalists he was grateful to the Taliban authorities for his release and he was “very happy” to be reunited with his family.

“A lot of innocent people are imprisoned, my request is that all of them can be released and be able to return to their homes,” he said.

His son, Rafiullah Mohammed, said his father was innocent and that the family demanded compensation.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP two US nationals had been released, declining to provide any further details on the exchange.

The family of US citizen Ryan Corbett, who was detained by the Taliban in 2022, confirmed he was released and thanked both the Biden and Trump administrations, as well as Qatar.

“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan´s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family said on their website.

They called for two other Americans still held in Afghanistan to be released. The person familiar with the deal confirmed William McKenty as the second released American detainee. Little is known about what he was doing in Afghanistan and his family asked for privacy. Qatar´s lead negotiator, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi, confirmed the Gulf state´s mediation in the exchange, with all the released people going through Doha. Two other Americans are believed to remain in detention in Afghanistan, former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalised American Mahmood Habibi. In August 2024, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was seeking information about the disappearance of Afghan-American businessman Habibi two years previously. Biden came under heavy criticism for the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, more than a year after Trump presided over a deal with the Taliban insurgents to end US and NATO involvement in the two-decade war.