Iran says releases Irish national on “consular, humanitarian” grounds

By Xinhua News Agency On May 12, 2023

TEHRAN, May 12– The Iranian Embassy in Dublin said that an Irish national imprisoned in Iran has been pardoned and released on “consular and humanitarian” grounds. The Iranian Embassy announced in a post on its Twitter page on Thursday evening the Irish national’s release was a result of “constructive diplomatic engagement between Iran and Ireland,” identifying…

TEHRAN, May 12 (Xinhua) — The Iranian Embassy in Dublin said that an Irish national imprisoned in Iran has been pardoned and released on “consular and humanitarian” grounds.

The Iranian Embassy announced in a post on its Twitter page on Thursday evening the Irish national’s release was a result of “constructive diplomatic engagement between Iran and Ireland,” identifying the Irish citizen as Bernard Phelan.

Phelan, a Paris-based travel consultant, was arrested in October 2022 in Iran and sentenced to over six years in prison for “sending security information” abroad after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in a Tehran hospital on Sept. 16, a few days after her collapse at a police station. The 64-year-old man was held in a prison in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.

Given that the Irish national had entered Iran with a French passport, his case was pursued by the French Embassy in Tehran.

In a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin thanked Iran for releasing Phelan. Enditem

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