Judiciary Confirms Detention of 3 Australian Nationals, Indictments Issued
TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Iranian Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmayeeli on Tuesday confirmed that three Australian nationals have been arrested in Iran for spying and taking images from sensitive areas.
"This is true. These individuals have been detained in two cases and indictments have been issued for both," Esmayeeli told reporters in a press conference.
He added that one of the cases pertains to the images taken by two foreign nationals from military and banned zones, and "the images have been retrieved from the memory of the camera which has been discovered and seized from them".
"In a separate case, a foreign national has been accused of spying for another country and the court will judge if this person has done a crime or not," Esmayeeli said.
Western media reports said earlier this month that three Australian citizens – two of whom also hold British passports – had been arrested and detained in Iran.
A female British-Australian academic who has been teaching at a university in Australia was arrested several months ago, Guardian reported.
Also, a British-Australian blogger and her male Australian partner were detained while travelling across the country. It is believed they were camping in a military area around Jajrood in Tehran province, it added.
"This is true. These individuals have been detained in two cases and indictments have been issued for both," Esmayeeli told reporters in a press conference.
He added that one of the cases pertains to the images taken by two foreign nationals from military and banned zones, and "the images have been retrieved from the memory of the camera which has been discovered and seized from them".
"In a separate case, a foreign national has been accused of spying for another country and the court will judge if this person has done a crime or not," Esmayeeli said.
Western media reports said earlier this month that three Australian citizens – two of whom also hold British passports – had been arrested and detained in Iran.
A female British-Australian academic who has been teaching at a university in Australia was arrested several months ago, Guardian reported.
Also, a British-Australian blogger and her male Australian partner were detained while travelling across the country. It is believed they were camping in a military area around Jajrood in Tehran province, it added.