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Vienna says its citizen has reached Doha after his launch was secured by the mediation of the Qatari authorities.
The Taliban have launched Herbert Fritz, an 84-year-old Austrian far-right nationalist who was arrested in Afghanistan final Could.
The Austrian authorities stated in a press release on Sunday that Fritz arrived in Doha, Qatar, through the day after Qatari authorities mediation helped safe his launch.
Fritz was arrested final 12 months after disregarding Austria's long-standing warning towards journey to Afghanistan, which returned to Taliban rule in 2021.
When requested about his ordeal upon reaching Doha, he informed reporters, “I believe it was dangerous luck however I wish to come once more.”
Fritz described his captors, saying, “There have been some good folks there however there have been some silly folks too, I'm sorry.”
After his arrest, Austria's Der Normal newspaper stated that Fritz had visited Afghanistan and reported positively on life there. He revealed an article titled “Holidays with the Taliban” by a far-right media outlet.
The newspaper stated this helped gas anti-immigration arguments that Afghanistan is a protected nation the place refugees can return.
Der Normal stated the Taliban arrested him on suspicion of espionage and that Austrian neo-Nazis publicized his case by Telegram channels.
Austria's Overseas Ministry stated it had been working since Could to safe Fritz's launch, and thanked the EU's illustration in Qatar and Kabul for help in efforts to safe his return to Austria.
An Austrian ministry spokesman informed the Related Press information company that Fritz was being held in a jail in Kabul.
Writing on X, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer thanked Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his crew for his or her “robust assist in releasing considered one of our residents from jail in Afghanistan”.
“It’s only due to our trusted cooperation that this Austrian citizen will be capable of return residence to his daughter and grandchildren,” Nehmer stated.
In line with Der Normal and different media retailers, Fritz was a founding member of the nation's Nationwide Democratic Social gathering (NDP), a far-right group banned in 1988.
Austria's far-right Freedom Social gathering, which leads in opinion polls forward of parliamentary elections later this 12 months, had pressed for Fritz's launch. The occasion has stated that he was researching a guide in Afghanistan.
Qatar's Overseas Ministry expressed gratitude to the “caretaker authorities in Afghanistan” for releasing the Austrian.
“The State of Qatar has confirmed regionally and globally that it’s a dependable worldwide accomplice in quite a lot of vital points,” the ministry stated. “It leaves no stone unturned in using its vitality and potential within the areas of mediation, preventive diplomacy and settling disputes by peaceable means.”