DUBAI/VIENNA, Sept 17 (Askume) – Iran has granted an early release from prison to Austrian citizen Christian Weber, who was originally convicted of espionage, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday.
Nehammer has also posted a video on social media platforms
“The Austrian Embassy team in Tehran is working to ensure that he can leave the country as soon as possible and reunite with his family in Austria,” he added.
Both Austria and Iran have said little publicly about the case, which Vienna disclosed in late 2022.
At the time, Iran was facing the largest anti-government protests in modern history, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who had been arrested on suspicion of violating the dress code. Austria said at the time that the charges against its citizens were not related to the Amini case.
In February, Austria’s foreign minister said Weber’s espionage conviction had been overturned on appeal and his sentence for other unspecified crimes had been halved.
Austria’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that “administrative steps” still needed to be completed in collaboration with Iranian authorities.
Iran’s judiciary’s Mizan news agency said Weber was detained for crimes committed in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province and was released in what it considered the mercy of Islam. He was handed over to the Austrian ambassador to arrange his exit, the agency said.
Mizan did not say for what charges Weber was jailed. Calls to the Austrian embassy before regular office hours went unanswered. Iran’s judiciary was not immediately available for comment.
