British-Iranian professor detained since April in Iran returns to UK
A British-Iranian professor who had been detained in Iran on allegations of spying was released last week, the UK Foreign Office said.
Abbas Edalat, who founded the Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran, was released last week, the group announced, saying his detention was a case of “misinformation and misunderstanding”.
Mr Edalat’s release raises hopes for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been held in Iran since 2016, and whose case has become a key diplomatic bargaining chip for British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt.
Mr Hunt used his Christmas message to highlight her case and other people unjustly imprisoned.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who turns 40 today, has been imprisoned on spying charges for five years. She was arrested at Tehran airport after visiting her family. The mother of one denies all charges.
Mr Edalat was leading an academic workshop in Iran when he was arrested on April 15.
His group argues that increased threats and tension have contributed to the “potential for such interpretations”.
“In the context of the multi-pronged attacks and open threats of the US, Israel and their allies to destabilise the Islamic Republic of Iran – including massive spending on economic warfare, espionage and psychological operations against Iranians – the tensions are rising again and the potential for such misinterpretations is very real,” the group said.