Iran releases Australian couple after 3 months in detention
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/10/iran-releases-australian-couple-after-3.html
Iran has released an Australian-British blogger and her fiance from
detention after three months, the Australian foreign minister said on
Saturday.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that the couple, Jolie King and
Mark Firkin, were on their way home and in “good health and in good
spirits.”
She said all charges against them had been dropped.
“For Jolie and for Mark, the ordeal they have been through is now
over, they are being reunited with their loved ones, which is a source
of great relief and joy to everyone,” Ms Payne said.
They were held in detention in Tehran for almost three months after
being arrested for reportedly flying a drone without a permit.
There was no immediate acknowledgment Saturday by Iranian officials
or in the country’s state media of the couple’s release. However, that
has happened in previous cases.
A third Australian, University of Melbourne academic Kylie
Moore-Gilbert, is still being imprisoned by Iran after being charged
with spying last year.
Ms Payne said her case was “very complex” as she had been sentenced to 10 years in jail.
“We are continuing our discussions with the Iranian government, we
don’t accept the charges upon which she was convicted and we will seek
to have her returned to Australia,” she said.
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