Sunday 25 March 2007

Will British Sailors Be Charged With Espionage?

The Sunday Times - Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage’

A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted.

Referring to them as “insurgents”, the site concluded: “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.”

The penalty for espionage in Iran is death. However, similar accusations of spying were made when eight British servicemen were detained in the same area in 2004. They were paraded blindfolded on television but did not appear in court and were freed after three nights in detention.

Here are my previous posts on the captured sailors:

Iran Says British Sailors Admit Illegal Entry

Iran Captures 15 British Sailors and Marines

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