WASHINGTON (AP) — The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special operations forces by the Taliban Saturday evening, local time, in an area of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. Officials said the exchange was not violent and the 28-year-old Bergdahl was in good condition and able to walk.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said Bergdahl's recovery "is a reminder of America's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield."

The handover followed indirect negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban, with the government of Qatar serving as the go-between. Qatar is taking custody of the five Afghan detainees who were held at Guantanamo.

According to a senior defense official traveling with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Singapore, once Bergdahl climbed onto the noisy helicopter he took a pen and wrote on a paper plate, the "SF?" — asking the troops if they were special operations forces.

They shouted back at him over the roar of the rotors: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time."

Then, according to the official, Bergdahl broke down.

Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, is believed to have been held by the Haqqani network since June 30, 2009. Haqqani operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and has been one of the deadliest threats to U.S. troops in the war.

The network, which the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012, claims allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, yet operates with some degree of autonomy.

Officials said Bergdahl was transferred to Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, for medical evaluations. A defense official said he would be sent to Germany for additional care before eventually returning to the United States.

The defense official said Bergdhal was tentatively scheduled to go to the San Antonio Military Medical Center where he would be reunited with his family. The military was working Saturday to connect Bergdahl with his family over the telephone or by video conference.

Several dozen U.S. special operations forces, backed by multiple helicopters and surveillance aircraft, flew into Afghanistan by helicopter and made the transfer with the approximately 18 Taliban members. The official said the commandos were on the ground for a short time before lifting off with Bergdahl.

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The official added that the U.S. still believes that Bergdahl was being held for the bulk of the time in Pakistan, but it was not clear when he was transported to eastern Afghanistan.

All of the officials insisted on anonymity in order to discuss details of Bergdahl's transfer.

Officials said Obama spoke with Bergdahl's parents Saturday, shortly after their son had been taken into U.S. custody. Bergdahl's family was in Washington on a previously scheduled visit when they received the news.

The parents of the freed soldier, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, said in a statement that they were "joyful and relieved."

"We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son," they said.

The circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's capture remain something of a mystery. There has been some speculation that he willingly walked away from his unit, raising the question of whether he could be charged with being absent without leave (AWOL) or desertion.

The U.S. has long been seeking Bergdahl's release, but efforts have intensified as Obama finalized plans to pull nearly all American forces out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

"It is our ethos that we never leave a fallen comrade. Today we have back in our ranks the only remaining captured soldier from our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Welcome home Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl," said Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Officials said the Taliban signaled to the U.S. in November that they were ready to start new talks on the issue of detainees. After the U.S. received proof that Bergdahl was still alive, indirect talks began, with Qatar sending messages back and forth between the two parties.

The talks intensified about a week ago, officials said, resulting in Bergdahl's release and the transfer of the Afghan detainees.

The five Guantanamo detainees departed the base on a U.S. military aircraft Saturday afternoon. Under the conditions of their release, the detainees will be banned from traveling outside of Qatar for at least one year.

Obama and the emir of Qatar spoke last week about the conditions of the release, which have been codified in a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, officials said.

The administration is legally required to notify Congress in advance about plans to release Guantanamo detainees. An administration official said lawmakers were notified only after U.S. officials knew they had Bergdahl, but before the transfers took place.

Two Republican lawmakers said Obama violated U.S. laws when he approved the exchange. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of California and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma said the law required Obama to notify Congress 30 days before any transfer of terrorists from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In response, the White House said that officials considered what they called "unique and exigent circumstances" and decided to go ahead with the transfer in spite of the legal requirement.

The detainees are among the most senior Afghans still held at the prison. They are:

—Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence

—Mullah Norullah Nori, a senior Taliban commander in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001

—Khairullah Khairkhwa, who served in various Taliban positions including interior minister and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden

—Mohammed Nabi, who served as chief of security for the Taliban in Qalat, Afghanistan, and later worked as a radio operator for the Taliban's communications office in Kabul

—Mohammad Fazl, whom Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 as the Taliban sought to consolidate their control over the country.

Taliban and Afghan officials could not be reached for comment. In Pakistan, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said her government was "not aware of" Bergdahl's release or the negotiations leading up to it. She declined to comment further.

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Baldor reported from Singapore. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Washington, Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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American soldier freed by the Taliban

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only U.S. military prisoner in Afghanistan, was handed over in a swap mediated by Qatar.
Held since 2009

ISTANBUL (AP) — Hundreds of activists mobilized Saturday for demonstrations in Istanbul and other cities, defying a heavy police presence on the anniversary of nationwide anti-government protests that erupted last year.

Police blocked access to Istanbul's main square, Taksim, and news reports said some 25,000 police officers and up to 50 anti-riot water cannon vehicles would be deployed around the city. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned activists to keep away from the square, saying authorities were under strict orders to prevent protests.

"I am calling on my people: don't fall for this trap. This is not an innocent environmental action," Erdogan said.

In late May and June last year, hundreds of thousands of Turks took to the streets denouncing Erdogan's increasingly autocratic leadership and demanding more democratic freedoms. The protests were sparked by opposition to government plans to uproot trees at Taksim Square's Gezi Park and build a shopping center.

Fanned by outrage over the often brutal reaction by police, the demonstrations soon spread to other cities and developed into Turkey's biggest protests in decades. Thousands were wounded and at least 12 people have died in anti-government protests in the past year.

A group of architects, environmentalists and city planners who oppose Gezi Park's development said its members would march to Taksim despite the ban.

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Turkish security members watch a dog run as they close the city's landmark Taksim Square and Gez …

"If you go there, our security forces are under strict orders, they will do whatever is necessary from A to Z," Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul. "You won't be able to go to Gezi like the last time. You have to obey the laws. If you don't, the state will do whatever is necessary."

Protests were also expected in Ankara, Izmir and other cities.

Ahead of the protests, CNN correspondent Ian Watson was detained briefly during a live a broadcast. He said that police had kneed him and that an officer later apologized.

A report this week by the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights said that more than 5,600 demonstrators were being prosecuted for involvement in the protests while no one responsible for the violence against protesters had been sentenced.

The Turkish authorities "are actively engaging in a witch hunt against those who participated in the protests or spoke out," said the federation's president, Karim Lahidji.

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Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

Hundreds mobilize for demonstrations and defy police in Istanbul one year after a nationwide movement began.
Government's response

Wochit

Palestinian Unity Government To Be Formed Monday

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by rivals Hamas and Fatah will be announced Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday, adding that Israel already warned him it would take punitive steps against the new alliance.

The formation of the government would be the most significant step yet toward ending a crippling seven-year-old Palestinian political split. However, it is also bound to increase friction between Abbas and Israel's hard-line government.

Abbas said Saturday that he would respond to any Israeli punitive measures, such as withholding the monthly transfer of some $100 million in taxes and customs Israel collects on behalf of his Palestinian Authority. The funds are vital to keeping the self-rule government afloat.

The long-running Hamas-Fatah rivalry escalated in 2007 when the Islamic militant group Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from the internationally backed Abbas in 2007. Hamas, which has carried out scores of bombing, shooting and rocket attacks against Israeli targets, is considered a terror group by Israel and the West.

After the April collapse of a U.S.-mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Palestinian rivals revived reconciliation efforts. Negotiators met repeatedly to agree on a government of technocrats backed by both sides that is to prepare for general elections in 2015. In recent days, there were last-minute disagreements, but Abbas' announcement suggests the issues have been resolved.

"The announcement of the government will be on Monday," he said during a meeting with several dozen pro-Palestinian activists from France. "The Israelis informed us today that they are going to boycott us immediately after we form the government."

"They are going to withhold our money," he said, referring to the monthly transfers. "This is our money, not aid from Israel, and we will not stay silent. They want to punish us because we have an agreement with Hamas, which is part of our people."

Abbas, the leader of Fatah, reiterated that the unity government would follow his pragmatic program.

"We say (the government) is going to recognize Israel, denounce violence and recognize the international agreements," he said, echoing the international community's conditions for dealing with Hamas. "This is a technocrat government. It has nothing to do with Fatah, Hamas or any factions."

A senior Israeli government official said the formation of a unity government "is a great leap backward," but declined to say whether Israel would take punitive action. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue with journalists.

Abbas said that "we are going to react to any Israeli action."

He did not elaborate. However, Abbas and his aides have said in the past that they might step up efforts to gain further international recognition of a state of Palestine. The United Nations General Assembly recognized such a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — lands Israel captured in 1967 — as a non-member observer in 2012.

Palestinian officials have said a state of Palestine is eligible for membership in 63 international organizations, treaties and conventions. Last month, Abbas signed membership requests for 15 conventions, and his aides have said the Palestinians planned to sign up for more in several stages.

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Associated Press writer Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Palestinian unity government to be formed

Rival factions Hamas and Fatah will announce the creation of a new alliance despite warnings from Israel.
'A great leap backward'

Sudan mother facing apostasy death sentence to be freed soon

Khartoum (AFP) - A Christian Sudanese woman sentenced to hang for apostasy will be "freed within days", a foreign ministry official told AFP Saturday, after her case triggered an international outcry.

Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag was condemned to death on May 15 under the Islamic sharia law that has been in place since 1983 and outlaws conversions under pain of death.

"The lady will be freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be taken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice," said Abdullah al-Azraq, a foreign ministry undersecretary.

Azraq, who spoke via telephone from London, did not elaborate.

The 27-year-old gave birth to a baby girl on Tuesday in a women's prison in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman.

Her husband, US citizen Daniel Wani, visited Ishag and the baby on Thursday, after being denied access earlier in the week, and told AFP both were in "good health".

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Daniel Wani, a US citizen originally from South Sudan, carries his newborn daughter Maya at the wome …

Ishag was born to a Muslim father but told the court during her trial that she had never been a Muslim herself.

The court gave her three days to "recant" her faith and when she refused, Ishag was handed the death penalty and sentenced to 100 lashes for "adultery".

Under Sudan's interpretation of sharia, a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man, so any such relationship is regarded as adulterous.

Her case sparked international condemnation.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday he was "appalled" by the "barbaric" sentence given to Ishag.

Britain and Canada had summoned the Sudanese envoys to their countries last week and told them the sentence violated Sudan's international human rights obligations.

United Nations experts have called the conviction "outrageous" and said it must be overturned.

An appeal was filed against the verdict but defence attorney Mohannad Mustapha said a hearing that was to have been held on Wednesday was postponed because the case file was incomplete.