Swiss and Austrian women in Libya after release from Niger kidnap ordeal

An Austrian and a Swiss women kidnapped in Niger more than a year and a half ago have been freed and are in Libya, Bern and Vienna announced Thursday.

Sixty-nine-year-old Swiss national Claudia Abbt and 76-year-old Eva Gretzmacher arrived in the eastern city of Benghazi where they received medical treatment.

Their release follows an intervention by Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east and parts of the south of the country.

Looking tired, they appeared in a broadcast by an eastern-based television channel Al-Masar thanking Haftar and his son, Saddam, for securing their freedom.

Gretzmacher was taken on 11 January 2025, while Abbt was captured in April last year. No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions.

Many experts and Nigerien media outlets have suggested that the Islamic State in the Sahel jihadist group, or its affiliated groups, could be responsible.

Both women were living in Agadez in northern Niger when they were captured and had been involved in education and development initiatives.

They were met in Benghazi by teams from their respective countries.

Swiss authorities says Abbt is “doing well under the circumstances and is currently on her way back to Switzerland".

Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in the statement that he was relieved that she has been freed.

After the kidnapping came to light, the Swiss foreign ministry set up a task force including police and intelligence resources to try to secure her release.

Vienna confirmed that Gretzmacher was received by an Austrian crisis response team earlier Thursday following "intensive diplomatic efforts to secure her release".

“We are all very relieved that Eva G is free again after more than 21 months. This period has been an unimaginable ordeal for her and her family," Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a statement.