Art Frerichs, owner of Art’s Master Mechanics in Lombard and the father of Mark Frerichs, posted this message on his shop’s sign last weekend. A video showing Frerichs in captivity in Afghanistan was made public by the New Yorker on April 1.
Lombard man has been held hostage since 2020
The family of Mark Frerichs had not seen or heard from Mark since the Lombard native was taken hostage in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul just over two years ago.
However, that changed late last week. The New Yorker, in a story published April 1, said it obtained a video from an unidentified individual in Afghanistan that shows Frerichs in captivity. In the video, Frerichs is shown wearing Afghan clothes and has a short beard.
The video is around 30 seconds long. Frerichs said in the video that it was recorded on Nov. 28, 2021.
In the video, he says, “My name is Mark Frerichs … I’ve been patiently waiting for my release. I’d like to ask the leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, please release me. Release me so that I may be reunited with my family. Thank you.”
The New Yorker said Frerichs’ sister, Charlene Cakora, confirmed that the man in the video is Mark.
“We are grateful to the Taliban for sharing a proof of life video of Mark. This is public confirmation of our family’s long-held belief that he is alive after more than two years in captivity,” Cakora said in a statement, which appeared in its entirety on the CBS News Chicago website April 1.
“We consider this to be an important indicator of the Taliban’s interest in seeking to arrange for Mark’s immediate release. President Biden and Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken, we urge you to take bold and decisive action to bring Mark home.
“President Biden, statements are not enough. You have had a way to bring Mark home since you took office. Now we need you to act. Please don’t leave my brother behind. It is time to bring home the only American currently held hostage in Afghanistan. Mark, we love you and are doing all we can to bring you home. Please do not lose hope.”
Cakora and Frerichs’ father, Art, live in Lombard.
Jan. 31 marked two years since Frerichs, 59, a U.S. Navy veteran, was kidnapped. He had been living and working in Kabul for 10 years as a civil engineer until his abduction. It is believed he is in the custody of the Haqqani network, which is linked to the Taliban. Frerichs is the only American hostage in Taliban custody.
According to the New Yorker, Cakora sent a letter last August to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s leader, requesting video showing that Frerichs was alive. The letter was sent around the time when the Biden Administration was withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Haqqani is the interior minister of the new Taliban government, and is one of that nation’s top law-enforcement officials, according to the New Yorker, yet he is on the F.B.I.’s Most Wanted List for previous attacks on Americans.
Cakora told the New Yorker she believes the video of Mark is a reply to her request and “an important indicator of the Taliban’s interest in seeking to arrange for Mark’s immediate release.”
However, the Taliban has said it will only release Frerichs in exchange for Bashar Noorzai, a tribal leader from southern Afghanistan who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison for drug trafficking.
Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth told the New Yorker in a statement that she endorses a prisoner exchange.
“As the only remaining U.S. hostage of the war in Afghanistan, we owe it to Mark Frerichs and his family to pull every possible lever we can to bring home this Navy Veteran who served our nation honorably,” Duckworth said. “Bashir Noorzai cooperated with our government by providing intelligence and helping us recover weapons from the Taliban for years and, as an elderly man in poor health, he is unlikely to return to any position of operational significance for the Taliban. At this point releasing him—after he served 17 years in prison—appears to be the only way to secure Mark’s safe return, so I would support the (Biden) Administration taking this step to ensure an American is not left behind.”
