Berlin calls on Iran to free German fisherman

DPA: Berlin on Thursday has called on the Iranian government to release a German citizen arrested for fishing illegally in Iran’s territorial waters. DPA

BERLIN/TEHRAN – Berlin on Thursday has called on the Iranian government to release a German citizen arrested for fishing illegally in Iran’s territorial waters.

The man, who was arrested on November 29, is due to appear before a court in Iran.

According Germany’s Foreign Office, the man stated he had inadvertantly wandered into Iranian waters during a fishing tour.

A German daily Die Rheinpfalz reported that the 52-year-old man, whose hobby is deep sea fishing, was on vacation in the United Arab Emirates with his wife and a French friend, when he and the friend sailed into Iranian waters in the Strait of Hormuz south of the island of Abu Musa.

Abu Musa is thought to be the site one of Iran’s strategic military bases and is tightly defended.

“We have called for a quick solution to the case and release as quickly as possible,” said a Foreign Office spokesman in Berlin, adding that “we will see to it that he has adequate legal representation.”