An Austrian far-right extremist who visited Afghanistan reportedly to prove it was a safe country was released on Sunday after nine months in detention there.
Herbert Fritz, 84, who according to Austrian media has close links to the far-right extremist scene, arrived in the Qatari capital Doha after being freed by Taliban authorities.
Fritz was arrested in May after defying Austria’s long-standing warning against travel to Afghanistan, which in 2021 returned to the rule of the Taliban, which imposed a strict interpretation of Islam.
“I think it was bad luck but I want to visit again,” he told reporters on arrival in Doha, when asked about his ordeal.
“There were some nice people but there were some foolish people also, I’m sorry,” Fritz added, describing his captors.
Austrian authorities thanked Qatar, the gas-rich Gulf emirate, for aiding Fritz’s release and said he may receive medical care in Doha before flying home.
A spokeswoman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry told Associated Press the man had been held in a prison in Kabul.
Taliban has a choice: renounce al-Qaeda or remain in isolation
Taliban has a choice: renounce al-Qaeda or remain in isolation
“It is only due to our trusted collaboration that this Austrian citizen will be able to return home to his daughter and grandchildren,” Nehammer said.
Qatar’s Foreign Affairs ministry released a statement on X expressing gratitude to the “caretaker government in Afghanistan” for releasing the Austrian.
“The State of Qatar has proven, regionally and globally, that it is a trusted international partner in various important issues, and it spares no effort in harnessing its energy and ability in the areas of mediation, preventive diplomacy, and settling disputes through peaceful means ,” it said.
The Taliban government’s interior and foreign ministries did not respond to a request for comment.
Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported last year that an Austrian man had been arrested in Afghanistan and that he was a veteran far-right extremist and co-founder of a minor far-right party that was banned in 1988, the National Democratic Party.
Afghan women fear going out alone due to Taliban rules: UN
Afghan women fear going out alone due to Taliban rules: UN
He also reportedly visited fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the de facto army of the Kurdish semi-autonomous administration in Syria’s northeast.
Turkey views the YPG as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – a group designated by Ankara and many of its Western allies as a terrorist organisation.
Additional reporting by Associated Press