TEHRAN – Saudi Arabia has released three Iranian fishermen detained by the kingdom’s coastguard last year, Bushehr Province Fishery Department said on Tuesday.

Ardeshir Yarahmadi, the public relations officer of the local department, said the three fishermen were arrested in June 2017 after their boat fishing in the Persian Gulf strayed from their course due to big sea waves, IRNA reported.

Yarahmadi further said that they were freed this week after serving their sentence in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement in June 2017, Iran’s Interior Ministry called on Riyadh to immediately free the three fishermen, saying Saudi Arabia had to live up to its legal obligation of returning the fishermen, paying up compensation, and punishing those behind the incident.

MH/PA