AFRICA/LIBYA - Eva Gretzmacher and Claudia Abbt released after nearly two years in captivity

Benghazi (Fides News Agency) – Austrian national Eva Gretzmacher and Swiss national Claudia Abbt, who were abducted separately in Agadez, Niger, in 2025, have been released. The Nigerien news agency Air Info reported that the two humanitarian workers arrived in Benghazi, eastern Libya, on Wednesday, 21 October.
According to information released so far, a plane was due to leave Benghazi today, Thursday, 22 October, stopping in Vienna to hand Eva Gretzmacher over to the Austrian authorities before continuing to Switzerland with Claudia Abbt. The precise circumstances of their release have not been disclosed.
Eva Gretzmacher was abducted from her home in Agadez on 11 January 2025. Claudia Abbt was kidnapped in the same city in April of that year. Several sources have attributed both abductions to the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISS). According to reports circulating in the media, Saddam Haftar, son of Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, may have played a decisive role in their release. However, his involvement has not been officially confirmed.
(AP) (Fides News Agency, 22/10/2026)

Share: