Iranian Filmmakers Released in Iraq
The two arrived in Iran at 12:00 noon through Shalamcheh border post in Khuzestan Province and were warmly received by their families and officials especially those from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
U.S. troops arrested the two journalists on July 1 while they were filming the Iraqi people’s life near the town of Diwaniyah. The journalists work for Channel 2 of the IRIB.
Journalists said they were subjected to "severe torture" while in American custody.
"The detention was unimaginable. The first 10 days was like a nightmare. We were subjected to severe torture," Saeed Abou Taleb told the IRIB.
"The other four months were terrifying. I would rather not remember it. It was very bad, very bad," he said.
Abou Taleb said the pair had been filming in an unrestricted area, and added that a U.S. officer had even apologized to them before they were released and admitted that their arrest had been a mistake.
"It was not a restricted area. We had full authorization from the responsible U.S. officer to film the area," Abou Taleb said. "These four months have been dreadful. I will give full details later."
Abou Taleb said there were more than 50 other Iranian nationals being held in Baghdad, adding that he believed most of them were people who had crossed into the country for a pilgrimage to the Shiite Muslim holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
Thousands of Iranians are believed to have crossed into Iraq illegally for pilgrimages since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in April, and at least 200 have died -- many in minefields -- while making the crossing.
The French-based Reporters without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) in August expressed regret over the continued detention of the IRIB reporters. It said the coalition forces must provide convincing evidence that the Iranians were really a security threat "or else release them at once".
162 Iranian MPs in a statement slammed the arrests, stressing that the behavior of U.S.-British troops toward the media staff was "a patent example of the violation of democracy and freedom". They also urged President Mohammad Khatami to strongly follow up the issue to secure the release of the reporters.
Khatami, accordingly lashed out at the U.S. and Britain over what he described as an "unacceptable" measure to arrests the IRIB staff and vowed that he would follow up the issue through diplomatic channels.
The families of the two men have staged protests at embassies and the UN building in Tehran.
British diplomats have been the main point of contact for Iranians trying to secure the men's release as the United States has no official diplomatic relations with Iran.
Last month, the Swiss ambassador, representing U.S. interests in Iran, was summoned to the foreign ministry to receive an angry protest over the detention of the two journalists and other Iranian nationals by U.S. forces in Iraq.
A spokeswoman for the families said officials would welcome the filmmakers back at Tehran airport on Monday night. RM/MS MNA End