KABUL (Khaama Press): The Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that an Austrian man who visited Afghanistan early this year is currently being detained in the country.
In an email response to a question regarding the case, the ministry confirmed that the man travelled to Afghanistan in May and was detained there. It was mentioned that Austria has long advised against visiting Afghanistan.
Due to data protection concerns, it refused to name the man or provide any other information. However, it did state that it has been “actively seeing a solution” since learning of the arrest and that it has frequently been in touch with the man’s family.
The Austrian daily Der Standard, which first reported on the case, said the man was a veteran far-right extremist in his 80s and a co-founder of a minor far-right party banned in 1988, the National Democratic Party.
According to the report, he has been detained for a few weeks since a far-right publication published an article titled “Vacation with the Taliban”, in which he presented a favourable portrayal of life in Afghanistan under Taliban control. He is allegedly being held for espionage, and Austrian neo-Nazis have made his case public via Telegram groups.
Der Standard claimed that the Austrian, only identified as Herbert F., had a penchant for visiting dangerous places, having travelled to Afghanistan in the 1980s and Kurdish fighters against the ISIS group in northern Syria a few years ago.
Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on August 2021 after the toppling of the previous government and the withdrawal of foreign troops.
Since then, the de facto authorities have not been recognised as a legitimate government in the country, and the international community conditioned their recognition on several factors, including respecting human rights and women’s rights, cutting ties with terrorist outlets, stopping drug trafficking and forming an inclusive government in the country.
Australian man detained in Afghanistan, accused of spying
