Herbert Fritz was arrested last May
Doha, Qatar:
An Austrian far-right extremist who traveled to Afghanistan to prove it was a safe country was released on Sunday after nine months in detention, according to reports.
Herbert Fritz, 84, who has close ties to far-right extremist forces, arrived in the Qatari capital Doha after being released by Taliban authorities, Austrian media reported.
Fritz was arrested in May for ignoring Austria’s longstanding warnings against traveling to Afghanistan. Afghanistan returned to rule by the Taliban in 2021, who enforce a strict interpretation of Islam.
Asked about his ordeal, he told reporters on arrival in Doha: “I think it was bad luck but I would like to visit again.”
“There were some good people, but there were also some stupid people, and I’m sorry,” Fritz added, describing the kidnappers.
Austrian authorities thanked the gas-rich Gulf emirate of Qatar for helping free Fritz and said he would likely receive medical care in Doha before flying home.
The Taliban government’s interior and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Austrian newspaper Standard, one of Fritz’s hobbies was visiting “dangerous” places, including Afghanistan in the 1980s and eastern Ukraine in recent years.
To prove that Taliban-ruled Afghanistan was safe, he traveled there last year and published an article titled “Holidays with the Taliban” through far-right media.
The Standard said he was arrested shortly afterwards on suspicion of espionage. The newspaper added that such travel coverage may be an attempt to portray Afghanistan as a safe country to which Afghan refugees can return.
According to Austrian media, Fritz has met in the past with Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is currently imprisoned in Turkey.
He also reportedly visited fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the de facto army of the semi-autonomous Kurdish government in northeastern Syria.
Turkey views the YPG as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and many of its Western allies.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
