AP: Iran has detained three Finns for allegedly straying into its territorial waters during a fishing trip in the Persian Gulf but is releasing no information on their whereabouts, the Finnish ambassador to Tehran said Wednesday. Associated Press
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran has detained three Finns for allegedly straying into its territorial waters during a fishing trip in the Persian Gulf but is releasing no information on their whereabouts, the Finnish ambassador to Tehran said Wednesday.
Ambassador Heikki Puurunen said Iranian officials assured him that the three men were in good condition and had been treated well since their Saturday detention.
However, Puurunen told The Associated Press that Iran had not yet agreed to a Finnish request to see the men in accordance with consular agreements between the two countries.
“The only message we have got from the Iranians is that they are in good condition and they are taking good care of them,” Puurunen said. “They said that they will inform us as soon possible … In Iran it usually it takes some time to get these things.”
“Of course we want to know how they are but we have been assured that they are well,” Puurunen said. “We have good relations with Iran, so hopefully that will help.”
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday that he was not aware of the case. Iranian state media contained no reports on the detentions.
The three men were employed by Nokia Siemens Networks in Dubai and were seized off the nearby island of Abu Musa, the ambassador said.
Nokia Siemens spokesman Barry French said the three employees were on vacation.
“It would appear that they mistakenly navigated into Iranian waters during a fishing trip,” said French, who did not identify the men and gave no other details.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards detained 15 British sailors and marines after seizing their ship on March 23 in what Tehran claimed were Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Britain insisted the crew was in Iraqi waters at the time. The 15 were released after nearly two weeks in captivity.
In November 2005, Iranian officials arrested a Frenchman and a German during a sailing trip, purportedly for taking photos of ships in the Persian Gulf. Stephane Lherbier and Donald Klein were convicted in January 2006 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Lherbier, the Frenchman, was released in February 2007, and Klein was freed in March.
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Associated Press Writer Matti Huuhtanen in Helsinki, Finland, contributed to this report.
