Iran Releases Couple after 3 Months in Jail: Australia FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran has released an Australian couple after three months behind the bars, the Australian foreign minister said.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told reporters that it was "with some enormous relief" that she could announce Jolie King and Mark Firkin "have been released and returned".
The couple spent almost three months in Evin prison after they were arrested for flying a drone near a military zone without a license.
Flying a drone without a permit in Iran is punishable by six months in prison followed by immediate deportation.
Payne said the government continues to seek the return of a third Australian, Melbourne University lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who has been in detention since October 2018, AAP reported.
She described Moore-Gilbert's situation as "very complex".
"We are extremely happy and relieved to be safely back in Australia with those we love," the couple said in a statement on Saturday following their release.
