Germans detained in Iran meet families

Two German journalists detained in Iran since October have met their families, an official said on Tuesday, as Germany's foreign minister thanked his Iranian counterpart for his help.

The relatives met the two men in Tabriz, the city where they are jailed about 530 kilometres (330 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran, said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.

"Yesterday, they went from Tehran to Tabriz and they met the two detainees," Mehmanparast told reporters.

The encounter was held around a dining table in what appeared to be a Tabriz hotel restaurant, according to footage of the gathering aired on the Islamic republic's Arabic-language television channel Al-Alam.

In the footage, the tired-looking German detainees were dressed in dark winter clothing while their relatives, two women, were wearing scarves over their heads in accordance with Iran's Islamic dress code.

The meeting was held in the presence of Germany's ambassador to Tehran, Bernd Erbel.

The family members are expected to leave Tehran late on Tuesday after the meeting which informed sources said lasted through until the morning.

Before they went to Tabriz, the family members had met with Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who had been "very active" in arranging the meeting, according to Mehmanparast.

"The fate of these prisoners depends on judiciary officials and their case. If they are innocent they will be freed, but if they have committed a crime it will be investigated," he said.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle thanked his Iranian counterpart for his "support", in a statement published on the foreign ministry website.

But Germany wanted to see them freed and allowed to return home, he repeated.

The official news agency IRNA reported Tehran's foreign ministry had "made it possible for two German nationals arrested in Iran to meet their families" after Westerwelle had appealed to Salehi.

The request had been granted "on humanitarian grounds" and took into account the Christian holiday season, the agency said.

Tabriz general prosecutor Moussa Kahlilolahi had announced the meeting on Monday in a statement carried by IRNA.

German officials had previously summoned the Iranian ambassador over repeated failed efforts to set up the encounter despite "several firm promises" from the Iranian side, German foreign ministry spokesman Stefan Bredohl said.

German weekly Bild am Sonntag has said its two employees, who have not been named, travelled to Iran to investigate the case of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

They were arrested on October 10 in Tabriz together with the son and family lawyer of Ashtiani, whose case has sparked international outrage and diplomatic intervention by several Western governments as well as the Vatican.

Iran says the two entered the country on tourist visas and failed to obtain the necessary accreditation for journalists from the authorities before "posing as reporters" when they contacted her family.

Iran's prosecutor general Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said on December 5 that the two Germans were being investigated for illegal entry to the country, but denied they faced espionage charges.

"These two did some violations after entering the country, which is under investigation. Nobody labelled them as spies," he was quoted as saying at the time.

All journalists working for foreign media in Iran must obtain accreditation from the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance in order to work in the Islamic republic.

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