Iran Releases Australian Video Bloggers From Detention

The Australian foreign minister said today an Australian-British blogger and her finance were released in Iran after three months of detention.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that the couple, Jolie King and Mark Firkin, were on their way home and in “good health and in good spirits.”

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She said all charges against them had been dropped.

“For Jolie and for Mark, the ordeal they have been through is now over, they are being reunited with their loved ones, which is a source of great relief and joy to everyone,” Payne said.

They were held in detention in Tehran for almost three months after being arrested for reportedly flying a drone without a permit.

There was no immediate acknowledgment today by Iranian officials or in the country’s state media of the couple’s release. However, that has happened in previous cases.

University of Melbourne academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert is still imprisoned in Iran after being charged with spying last year.
Payne said her case was “very complex” as she had been sentenced to 10 years in jail.

“We are continuing our discussions with the Iranian government, we don’t accept the charges upon which she was convicted and we will seek to have her returned to Australia,” she said.