The US and Afghanistan: A Prisoner Exchange after “Prolonged Negotiations”

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Lengthy negotiations between Washington and Kabul have resulted in a prisoner exchange agreement during the final hours of the previous US administration under Joe Biden.

On Tuesday, Afghan authorities announced that the United States had released an Afghan prisoner convicted by an American court of drug trafficking and terrorism in exchange for two American citizens detained in Afghanistan.

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According to officials, Afghan Khan Mohammed arrived in Kabul after his release. The US Department of Justice stated that a court sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2008, marking his first conviction on charges related to drugs and terrorism.

In a statement, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the prisoner exchange was the result of “lengthy and fruitful” negotiations between Afghan and American authorities.

The US Department of Justice website reported that “Khan” was arrested in eastern Afghanistan in 2006 and transferred to the US the following year.

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Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the release of the Americans but declined to reveal their identities.

One of the released Americans is Ryan Corbett, according to a family-run website. The website noted that Corbett had been detained by the Taliban since 2022.

The family expressed their joy, saying, “We are thrilled that Ryan is on his way home.”

According to CNN and The New York Times, the second released American is William McEntee.

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The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a communiqué that “Kabul views the actions of the United States positively when they contribute to normalizing and expanding relations between the two countries.”

The statement also thanked Qatar for its role in facilitating the exchange.

Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi confirmed Mohammed’s arrival in Kabul and his reunion with his family.

Who Are the Released Prisoners?

The US Department of Justice noted on its website that Mohammed was a member of the Afghan Taliban movement and was sentenced to two life terms at the age of 38 for drug and terrorism charges.

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According to court records cited, Mohammed was “a violent extremist and drug trafficker… who sought to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan using missiles.”

Corbett’s family stated that he ran an NGO called Bloom Afghanistan, a social enterprise focused on supporting the private sector in Afghanistan.

Taliban authorities arrested Corbett in 2022 when he visited Afghanistan to renew his work visa.

The New York Times reported that McEntee’s family had requested the US government to maintain his privacy and not release any details about him.

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According to CNN, the prisoner exchange represents the culmination of years of effort and was conducted in the final hours of former President Joe Biden’s term, just before Donald Trump took office.

Graeme Smith, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, observed that “the Taliban waited for Trump.”

He added, “It was clearly the Biden administration that led the negotiations, and I believe this outgoing administration laid the groundwork for further potential exchanges,” referring to discussions about other Americans detained in Afghanistan and Mohammed Rahim, a prominent detainee held at Guantanamo.

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Earlier this month, a source told Reuters that the Biden administration had been negotiating with the Taliban since at least July on a US proposal to release three Americans, including Ryan Corbett, as well as George Gleizman and Mahmoud Habibi, in exchange for Rahim’s release.

The New York Times reported that Gleizman and Habibi remain in Afghanistan after their release this week.

The newspaper noted that Gleizman was a former airline mechanic and Habibi, a naturalized US citizen, was arrested shortly after the death of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US raid.

Corbett’s family praised the exchange under both the Trump and Biden administrations in a statement, while expressing regret over the continued detention of Gleizman and Habibi.

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