Iran has released two detained Kuwaiti journalists, announcing they’ve been cleared of spying charges.
Ruhollah Ghahremani, the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait, announced today that the two Kuwaiti nationals were released last night.
The two journalists were arrested on November 12 in Abadan, and local authorities said they had entered Iran illegally and were in possession of spying equipment.
Kuwait, however, said the detained men were journalists working on a program for a Kuwaiti television network.
Kuwait’s Al-Watan daily reported that both men were working on a program about Kuwaitis living abroad and were in Khuzestan to interview Kuwaiti residents of Iran’s southwestern province.
One of the detainees was identified as Adel Yahya, a Kuwaiti defence attorney and a host on the Al-Adaleh TV network. Raed Majed, the other detainee, is a cinematographer with the same network.
Iran’s ambassador said the two Kuwaitis were interrogated on the charge of “ “acting in contradiction of their received visa.”
Ghahremani added: “They violated the law because they entered Iran with a tourist visa but engaged in journalistic activities,” which requires the press visa.
