Families call for couple held in Iran to be set free immediately

Jailed: Jolie King and Mark Firkin THE families of a British-Australian woman and her Australian partner have pleaded for their immediate release from a notorious Iranian prison.

Jolie King and Mark Firkin, who live in Perth, have been held for the past 10 weeks in Tehran’s Evin Prison, with Ms King recently completing a lengthy period in a tiny one-person cell.

Ms King had been “scared”, “disoriented” and “intimidated” while kept in solitary confinement, the partner of another captive in the same prison — Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — said.

The couple was arrested for flying a drone near the capital Tehran without a licence, Pouria Zeraati, editor in chief at Iranian television station Manoto TV, said on Twitter.

Mr Zeraati, citing unidentified sources, said the couple had not yet stood trial.

“The family says this was a misunderstanding and Jolie King & her fiance Mark Firkin were unaware of the Iranian law which bans drone flights without a licence,” he tweeted.

Earlier reports said the couple were arrested while camping near a military area around Jajrood in Tehran province.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) yesterday released a statement from the couple’s families which said: “Our families hope to see Mark and Jolie safely home as soon as possible. We have no further comment to make at this stage and ask that the media respects our privacy at this difficult time.”

It has also been reported this week that a second British-Australian woman, whose name has not been made public, has also been incarcerated in the Evin Prison for almost a year, having been given a 10-year sentence.

The Cambridge-educated academic, who lectures at a Melbourne university, is reportedly also being held in solitary confinement.

While the charges levelled against her have not been made public, Iran routinely hands out 10-year-sentences for spying convictions.