Frenchman and German appeal Iran illegal entry sentence

AFP: An appeals court in southern Iran on Sunday began hearing the case of a German and Frenchman sentenced to 18 months in jail for illegally entering Iranian waters in a fishing boat. BANDAR ABBAS, Iran, March 12, 2006 (AFP) – An appeals court in southern Iran on Sunday began hearing the case of a German and Frenchman sentenced to 18 months in jail for illegally entering Iranian waters in a fishing boat.

The new hearing in the town of Bandar Abbas comes after German Donald Klein and an unnamed Frenchman working as his skipper were arrested after straying while on a fishing trip from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November.

Both men are being represented by Iranian lawyers.
A court in the same town sentenced the men to 18 months in prison on January 24 after the pair argued they entered Iranian waters by accident.

Several areas in the waters between Iran and the UAE are disputed, notably the island of Abu Mussa close to where the two were detained. The two men said they had mistakenly used Emirati maps that did not show the current maritime boundaries.

Their disappearance was first reported on November 29 by Klein’s wife when he failed to return from a fishing trip. The German man had been on holiday in the UAE, which lies across the Gulf from Iran.