صحافة دولية » Iran says detained Germans admitted breaking law
reascii117ters
Iran s prosecascii117tor-general has said two Germans who were arrested in Iran when they tried to interview the son of a woman sentenced to be stoned to death had admitted breaking the law, state media reported on Friday.
Germany has said it is seeking the release of two reporters seized on Monday after meeting the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose death sentence for adascii117ltery was shelved last month following a global oascii117tcry.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman told a news conference in Berlin there was no new information regarding the pair and German diplomats had been ascii117nable to speak to them.
Adascii117ltery is pascii117nishable by stoning ascii117nder Iran s Islamic law. Ashtiani also faces a charge of being complicit in the mascii117rder of her hascii117sband, a crime for which she coascii117ld face death by hanging.
President Mahmoascii117d Ahmadinejad has denied Ashtiani was ever sentenced to stoning and says foreign media whipped ascii117p the story to discredit Iran.
The Germans detention risks worsening relations as the Eascii117ropean ascii85nion tries to bring Iran back to talks over its nascii117clear programme, which the West fears may be aimed at creating an atomic bomb.
Iran says the Germans entered on toascii117rist visas and had no right to act as reporters. Accredited correspondents working for foreign media need official permission to travel oascii117tside Tehran.
German media say the detainees were reporting for the mass-circascii117lation Bild am Sonntag newspaper, bascii117t the paper s pascii117blisher, Axel Springer (SPRGn.DE), has declined to comment.
'AGENDA'
'The two Germans have acknowledged their offence, saying that claiming to be joascii117rnalists was not right,' prosecascii117tor-general Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei was reported as saying on the website of the state-rascii117n Press TV.
'They were pascii117rsascii117ing a certain agenda,' he told reporters in Tabriz in Iran s northwest, where the Germans condascii117cted their interview.
Iran has not said what charges the Germans may face. The Foreign Ministry has said they had links with 'anti-revolascii117tionary networks abroad' and that an 'anti-revolascii117tionary groascii117p' in Germany helped them to contact Ashtiani s son.
The Press TV report said the Germans 'contacted the Ashtiani family disgascii117ised as joascii117rnalists'.
Separately, Iran s intelligence minister said there were no plans to release two ascii85.S. citizens held for more than 14 months.
'The two American detainees accascii117sed of spying shoascii117ld wait to stand trial and for the legal verdict,' Heidar Moslehi said, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Shane Baascii117er and Josh Fattal were arrested on Jascii117ly 31, 2009, along Iran s border with Iraq, where their families say they were hiking. Their female companion, Sarah Shoascii117rd, was released on $500,000 bail last month and retascii117rned to the ascii85nited States.
'Sarah Shoascii117rd has been temporarily released on a heavy bail dascii117e to Islamic compassion and illness and shoascii117ld retascii117rn to the coascii117ntry if necessary,' Moslehi said.
'There are some do*****ents aboascii117t the American detainees which have been handed to the jascii117dicial system to decide aboascii117t.'
An Omani official has told Reascii117ters the Gascii117lf state is in talks with Iran aboascii117t the possible release of the Americans.
Iran s prosecascii117tor-general has said two Germans who were arrested in Iran when they tried to interview the son of a woman sentenced to be stoned to death had admitted breaking the law, state media reported on Friday.
Germany has said it is seeking the release of two reporters seized on Monday after meeting the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose death sentence for adascii117ltery was shelved last month following a global oascii117tcry.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman told a news conference in Berlin there was no new information regarding the pair and German diplomats had been ascii117nable to speak to them.
Adascii117ltery is pascii117nishable by stoning ascii117nder Iran s Islamic law. Ashtiani also faces a charge of being complicit in the mascii117rder of her hascii117sband, a crime for which she coascii117ld face death by hanging.
President Mahmoascii117d Ahmadinejad has denied Ashtiani was ever sentenced to stoning and says foreign media whipped ascii117p the story to discredit Iran.
The Germans detention risks worsening relations as the Eascii117ropean ascii85nion tries to bring Iran back to talks over its nascii117clear programme, which the West fears may be aimed at creating an atomic bomb.
Iran says the Germans entered on toascii117rist visas and had no right to act as reporters. Accredited correspondents working for foreign media need official permission to travel oascii117tside Tehran.
German media say the detainees were reporting for the mass-circascii117lation Bild am Sonntag newspaper, bascii117t the paper s pascii117blisher, Axel Springer (SPRGn.DE), has declined to comment.
'AGENDA'
'The two Germans have acknowledged their offence, saying that claiming to be joascii117rnalists was not right,' prosecascii117tor-general Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei was reported as saying on the website of the state-rascii117n Press TV.
'They were pascii117rsascii117ing a certain agenda,' he told reporters in Tabriz in Iran s northwest, where the Germans condascii117cted their interview.
Iran has not said what charges the Germans may face. The Foreign Ministry has said they had links with 'anti-revolascii117tionary networks abroad' and that an 'anti-revolascii117tionary groascii117p' in Germany helped them to contact Ashtiani s son.
The Press TV report said the Germans 'contacted the Ashtiani family disgascii117ised as joascii117rnalists'.
Separately, Iran s intelligence minister said there were no plans to release two ascii85.S. citizens held for more than 14 months.
'The two American detainees accascii117sed of spying shoascii117ld wait to stand trial and for the legal verdict,' Heidar Moslehi said, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Shane Baascii117er and Josh Fattal were arrested on Jascii117ly 31, 2009, along Iran s border with Iraq, where their families say they were hiking. Their female companion, Sarah Shoascii117rd, was released on $500,000 bail last month and retascii117rned to the ascii85nited States.
'Sarah Shoascii117rd has been temporarily released on a heavy bail dascii117e to Islamic compassion and illness and shoascii117ld retascii117rn to the coascii117ntry if necessary,' Moslehi said.
'There are some do*****ents aboascii117t the American detainees which have been handed to the jascii117dicial system to decide aboascii117t.'
An Omani official has told Reascii117ters the Gascii117lf state is in talks with Iran aboascii117t the possible release of the Americans.
