Iran’s judiciary said the country has released a German national sentenced to three years in jailfor taking photos in sensitive areas.
The man was freed in a prisoner swap for an Iranian which was held in Germany under suspicion of violating United States sanctions.
“On Monday, a German citizen returned home. He was arrested a while ago and was sentenced to three years in jail for taking pictures from sensitive places”, a judiciary spokesman said, and added:”We insisted that first the Iranian citizen should return home, then the German citizen was allowed to leave Iran on Monday”.
Iran’s authorities said that Ahmad Khalili, who was arrested in Germany on a US request, flew home on Sunday with Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, was returning from Germany after attending a security conference in Munich.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, has arrested dozens of dual nationals over recent years, mostly on espionage charges.
German citizen freed in Iran prisoner swap
EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET
Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the press after a meeting on the Iran Nuclear deal in Brussels, Belgium, 15 May 2018. High Representative Federica Mogherini met with the E3 Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
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