Swiss hostage Claudia Abbt apparently freed after 18 months in captivity

Claudia Abbt, the Swiss woman abducted in Niger, appears to have been released after around a year and a half in captivity. The 69-year-old is believed to have arrived in Benghazi, eastern Libya, overnight into Thursday, 22 October, alongside Austrian hostage Eva Gretzmacher. In a video, both women say they are free. Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) had not confirmed their release by Thursday morning.

The development points towards the end of a prolonged ordeal for two women who had made their lives in Agadez, northern Niger. Abbt was abducted in April 2025, Gretzmacher three months earlier. Both had run projects in the city. How their apparent release was secured, and when they might leave Libya, remain unclear.

‘Now I am happy to be free’

The footage shows two visibly exhausted women sitting beneath a portrait of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the powerful military leader in eastern Libya. Speaking French, Abbt gives her name, nationality and age before saying: “I was taken hostage a year and six months ago. Now I am happy to be free.”

Gretzmacher, 76, also gives her name and age. She says her captivity lasted a year and nine months. Both women thank Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam Haftar, who is said to have intervened at their families’ request. Saddam Haftar is a lieutenant-general and deputy commander-in-chief within his father’s power structure.

Their appearance provides an important sign of life and a strong indication that they have been released. It does not, however, resolve every question. Their tired appearance alone is no basis for assessing their health. There are no details yet about the care they are receiving or arrangements for their departure. Official confirmation from the FDFA, Switzerland’s foreign ministry, therefore remains important.

Abducted separately from the same city

Abbt was taken from her home in Agadez on 13 April 2025. The city lies on the edge of the Sahara in northern Niger. Married to a Nigerien man, she founded Tellit, an organisation supporting craftspeople. Her life and work were closely connected to the city and its residents.

Gretzmacher moved to Agadez in 1997 and spent almost three decades working with young people there. On the evening of 11 January 2025, armed men entered her home, forced her into an off-road vehicle and abducted her. The women were therefore seized separately, roughly three months apart, rather than in a single kidnapping.

The terrorist group Islamic State in the Greater Sahara claimed responsibility for the abductions. In late April 2025, it published a photograph of Gretzmacher. The women are believed to have been held in the border region between Niger and Mali, although their precise whereabouts during captivity are not known. The route by which they reached Benghazi also remains unclear.

Bern maintained contact with Niger

Abbt’s fate repeatedly featured in discussions between the Swiss authorities and officials in Niamey, Niger’s capital. Bern maintained contact after the military coup. Unlike France, Switzerland did not break off exchanges with Niger’s rulers, leaving channels open through which the kidnapping could be raised.

It is not yet possible to establish what role, if any, those contacts played in the apparent release. The fact that discussions took place does not demonstrate a specific Swiss contribution to the outcome. Nor is it known whether Swiss representatives were involved in a handover or the transfer to Libya. Saddam Haftar’s purported mediation has so far been the most prominent public explanation.

For the families, the immediate priorities are likely to be whether the women are being cared for safely and when a reunion will be possible. No date has been announced for Abbt’s return. There is also no confirmed information about the terms of the release, including whether anything was agreed in exchange.

For Switzerland, the distinction between the women’s statements and official confirmation remains significant. The video offers grounds for hope after months of uncertainty, but the arrangements for Abbt’s onward journey and the circumstances of her apparent freedom have yet to be clarified.

Benghazi is within Haftar’s sphere of power

The women’s appearance in Benghazi makes the political setting of the apparent mediation relevant. Libya has been deeply divided since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Two rival governments are competing for power: the UN-recognised government of Abdelhamid Dbeibah is based in Tripoli, while a separate administration in the east relies on Khalifa Haftar and his circle.

The details of his son’s role in the release have not been established. The women’s expressions of thanks show whom they credit for their freedom, but do not reveal how negotiations unfolded or what arrangements brought them to eastern Libya.

The next priorities are official confirmation, clarity about both women’s condition and their safe onward travel. For Switzerland, that would bring to a close a hostage case that has been ongoing since April 2025. Until those steps are clear, the video marks an apparent breakthrough rather than a complete account of how their captivity ended.