Iran frees two dual British nationals jailed for espionage
Iran has released two dual British-Iranian nationals jailed for involvement in espionage activities against the Islamic Republic, with the pair preparing to leave the country.
According to Press TV, the British-Iranians Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri are heading to a Tehran airport to leave the country, their lawyer Hojjat Kermani confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday.
Ashoori, who previously lived in southeast London with his family, was detained in August 2017 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for cooperating with Israel’s spy agency Mossad and two years for obtaining 33,000 euros in “illicit funds” nearly a year later.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, had been found guilty of plotting to orchestrate a soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic and has been in jail since 2016.
Back in October 2017, the prosecutor general of Tehran stated that she was being held for running “a BBC Persian online journalism course which was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran.”
Meanwhile, IRNA quoted informed sources that both individuals were released on humanitarian grounds on the eve of 15th of Shaban which marks the birth anniversary of Imam of the Age, Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his reappearance) as well as the occasion of Nowruz which marks the start of the new Iranian year.
SS
