Austria, Switzerland confirm release of 2 women abducted in Niger

By Zehra Nur Celik

ANKARA (AA) - An Austrian woman and a Swiss woman abducted separately in Niger in 2025 have been released, their governments confirmed Thursday.

Eva Gretzmacher of Austria and Claudia Abbt of Switzerland arrived in Benghazi, Libya, on Wednesday, Niger's Air Info newspaper reported.

Gretzmacher was abducted from her home in the northern Nigerien city of Agadez on Jan. 11, 2025, while Abbt was kidnapped in the same city in April that year, according to Air Info.

Austria's Foreign Ministry said Gretzmacher was received by an Austrian crisis response team Thursday.

"We are all deeply relieved that Eva G. is free again after more than 21 months," Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a ministry statement.

"Our intensive diplomatic efforts to secure her release have been successful. For many months, we worked closely, discreetly and in a spirit of trust with our regional, European and international partners. These joint efforts have paid off," she added.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry said federal officials met Abbt in Benghazi, where she received medical care.

"She is doing well under the circumstances and is currently on her way back to Switzerland," the ministry said.

Air Info reported that a plane was scheduled to leave Benghazi on Thursday, stop in Vienna to hand Gretzmacher over to Austrian authorities and then continue to Switzerland with Abbt.

The circumstances of their release have not been made public.

Air Info said some reports linked Saddam Haftar, son of Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar, to efforts to secure their release, but his involvement had not been officially confirmed.

Following Abbt's abduction, the Swiss Foreign Ministry reiterated its advice against all travel to Niger, citing the tense security situation and high risk of abduction.

Zehra Nur Çelik