No trip to Taliban

Automatically saved draft

The right-wing extremist author Herbert Fritz after his liberation. He does not want to visit Afghanistan again after all.

(Bild: zVg)

After nine months in Taliban custody, Austrian Herbert Fritz has apparently not yet had enough of his world travels, but he has had enough of Afghanistan. "I think it was bad luck, but for the sake of my family I don't want to travel there again," said the far-right author on his arrival in Vienna.

In the Qatari capital Doha, he had told Al Jazeera during his return that he would like to visit Afghanistan again. In the meantime, his family has probably talked him into it and "cured" him of this idea.

"Some nice people there"
"There were some nice people there, but also some stupid people. I'm sorry about that," he said about the people who had held him captive. The Emirate of Qatar had arranged the man's release. According to the Foreign Ministry, he was to be offered medical care in Qatar before traveling back to Austria.

Unfortunately, I wasn't hungry, but psychologically it was borderline.

Herbert Fritz über seine Haft

On the way from Vienna Airport to the hospital at home, Herbert Fritz told the "Krone" newspaper, visibly relieved. "I'm doing well under the circumstances, especially now surrounded by my family," said Fritz. However, his 282 days as a hostage in Afghanistan have naturally left their mark on the 84-year-old. However, the conditions of detention were "okay": "I didn't have to go hungry, there was enough to eat. Mainly rice and fruit. Psychologically, however, it was borderline. I was constantly being held out and promised release several times," says Fritz in the interview.

Herbert Fritz is back in Austria after a long imprisonment in Afghanistan

(Bild: zVg)

The exchange with the Taliban representatives was characterized by mutual distrust, but Fritz showed the Taliban the error of their ways in no uncertain terms. "To be honest, it was an embarrassment for both sides. On the one hand for me, because I always emphasized how safe Afghanistan is, and on the other hand because they arrested an Austrian opposition member - although they actually wanted to get in touch with the federal government."

Unbroken desire to travel, but no return to Afghanistan
After this incident, the right-wing book author is determined not to lose his desire to travel, but he will not be returning to Afghanistan at his family's request - and the Taliban authorities have also warned him against doing so. Now Fritz just wants to hug his grandchildren and great-grandchild and be a normal "grandpa" again.

The right-wing extremist author Herbert Fritz after his liberation. He doesn't want to visit Afghanistan again after all.

(Bild: zVg)

His thanks go to everyone involved in the rescue operation, but also to Andreas Mölzer, who stood up for him on the ground. "Without the help of Mölzer and Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, I would probably still be there today." The FPÖ veteran had campaigned for the liberation during a visit to Kabul, the top diplomat in discreet contacts.

Well-known figure in the far-right scene
Fritz is a well-known figure in the far-right scene in Austria. In 1967, he was a founding member of the National Democratic Party (NDP), which was banned in 1988. According to the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance in 2015, Fritz was still active in the far-right scene.