Franz J. Marty

Franz J. Marty is a Swiss freelance journalist currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan.

After graduating from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, in 2010 with a law degree (including inter alia public international law) with the highest possible ratings (summa cum laude) he worked mainly in Public Prosecution in Switzerland.

In 2013 he went to Tajikistan where he completed a six-month Tajiki language course at the Tajik National University in the capital Dushanbe and also intensively travelled through the country. Following his studies in Dushanbe, he trekked completely on his own through the Pamir in the eastern Tajik Province of Badakhshan and the remote Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. From there he returned via land and sea through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Malta and Italy back home to Switzerland, whereas he stayed for three months in Iran completing a Farsi language course at the University of Isfahan. Thereby and during his earlier travels in Russia he gained unique in-depth insight into these countries.

He speaks German, English, French, Persian (Tajiki, Dari, Farsi) and Russian. During his travels he began to write. Since December 2014 he works full time as a freelance journalist in Kabul, Afghanistan. He covers a wide range of topics, but is mainly interested in geopolitical and security issues.