Conflict & Security
Austrian and Swiss women freed after over a year in captivity in Niger, handed over in Libya
October 22, 2026 at 08:58 AM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 9 hours
Two European women kidnapped in Niger have been freed after over a year of captivity and handed over to authorities in Libya's Benghazi.
- Swiss national Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Austrian Claudia Abbt, 69, were freed and handed over to authorities in Benghazi.
- The two women were kidnapped separately in the northern Nigerien city of Agadez last year.
- The women thanked military commander Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam Haftar for their release.
- A plane was expected to depart Benghazi on Thursday, taking Gretzmacher to Vienna before continuing to Switzerland with Abbt.