All posts tagged "Prisoners"

Two American prisoners were being held in custody in Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Wednesday, and an “exchange” for Afghans held in Guantanamo Bay had been discussed with the United States.

Zabihullah Mujahid did not name the US prisoners, but an American woman was among more than a dozen staff of an international NGO arrested by Taliban authorities last September, and aid worker Ryan Corbett has been custody in since 2022.

“We should be able to free our citizens in (an) exchange, as American citizens are important for them (the United States), just as Afghans are important for us,” Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul....

Washington (AFP) - The United States confirmed Monday it had signed off on the transfer of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds from South Korea, paving the way for five US citizens to leave Tehran. The archenemies announced last month, after protracted negotiations, a deal in which the US citizens were freed from prison and put under house arrest, with the expectation they will fly out of Iran once the funds are moved to an account in Qatar. Secretary of State Antony Blinken notified Congress that he had gone ahead on a key part of the agreement, signing a waiver that will shield banks involved......

Washington (AFP) - Caracas on Saturday freed seven detained Americans -- including five oil executives -- in exchange for the release of two nephews of Venezuela's first lady who were jailed in the United States for drug-trafficking. President Joe Biden issued the announcement that the Americans were on their way home -- and a senior official in his administration confirmed shortly afterwards that the US leader had made the "painful decision" to greenlight the prisoner swap in order to secure their freedom. "Today, after years of being wrongfully detained in Venezuela, we are bringing home Jor......