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Afghanistan: Taliban release 84-year-old Austrian extremist who liked to visit ‘dangerous’ places

  • Herbert Fritz was arrested in Afghanistan last May on suspicion of spying
  • Austria thanked Qatar, the gas-rich Gulf emirate, for aiding Fritz’s release

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Austrian far-right activist Herbert Fitz after arriving in Doha, Qatar. Photo: AFP

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.

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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.

Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2013. File photo: AP
Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2013. File photo: AP

“There were some nice people but there were some foolish people also, I’m sorry,” Fritz added, describing his captors.

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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.

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