December 20-2013
. . . summoned
The last two Slovak paragliders arrested in Iran last spring were freed Thursday, but only after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico flew to Tehran to personally appeal for their release.
The nature of the release recalled the case of two German journalists arrested a few years ago. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who just left office this week, later said Iran had made a Westerwelle visit to Tehran a precondition for the release of the pair. The Islamic Republic apparently wanted to show Western officials paying obeisance to Iran.
The Iranian media gave considerable coverage to Wester-welle’s visit and his face-to-face meeting with President Ahmadi-nejad. But this time, the media did not give Fico’s visit much coverage and he met only with the first vice president, not President Rohani.
The eight Slovaks have been freed without trial on any offense, with all charges presumably just being dropped.
“Prime Minister Robert Fico and Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak have concluded negotiations with Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri in Tehran,” said the Slovak prime minister’s spokeswoman, Beatrice Hudakova.
Fico later said, “I am convinced that if the state had not got involved, if we had not pursued the maximum political, diplomatic but also intelligence efforts, then certainly they would not be free today.”
The eight Slovak para-gliders were detained in May; six were released in September without any trial.
In July, Iran’s Judiciary said the eight Slovaks and one Iranian had been arrested for “illegal activities, including photographing restricted areas” in Esfahan province, which is home to nuclear facilities including the Natanz uranium enrichment plant and the Esfahan uranium conversion plant. No Iranian official, however, said what the paragliders had photographed that constituted an offense.
Also, no one has said anything about the fate of the one Iranian arrested with the Slovaks.
Friends of the paragliders said the eight men were not spies, but were traveling to film documentaries from a bird’s-eye view. They earlier released a film about their paragliding in the Himalayas of India.
Senior Iranian prosecutor Gholam Hossain Mohseni-Ejai charged that the men had smuggled unspecified “illegal equipment” into Iran and taken photos of restricted areas.
The paragliders apparently ran into trouble for using two-band walkie talkies that are banned in Iran, as well as cameras designed for extreme sports.
Vladislave Figo, one of the six men freed earlier, said they had been told there was a ban on filming below an altitude of 2,300 meters and they had abided by that restriction.
Last year, Iran arrested another Slovak and accused him of spying for the CIA. A special news program was broadcast showing him being followed by Iranian agents and detailing a major espionage effort. Shortly after the program was aired, the Slovak was freed without trial and allowed to go home.