Iran frees British Council employee Aras Amiri
Aras Amiri's lawyer in Tehran said the British Council worker flew out of the Iranian capital on Monday after her travel ban was lifted.
An Iranian woman jailed on spying charges has returned to the United Kingdom after Iran’s judiciary removed her travel ban, her lawyer and employer said Wednesday.
The British Council said Aras Amiri was acquitted of all charges against her following a successful appeal by her lawyers to Iran’s Supreme Court. Her lawyer in Tehran, Hojjat Kermani, confirmed to The Associated Press that Amiri flew out of the Iranian capital on Monday after her travel ban was lifted.
In March 2018, the London-based Iranian citizen traveled to her home country to visit with her ailing grandmother and was arrested seven days later for alleged spying. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2019.
Iran's judiciary claimed that Amiri had confessed to working with British intelligence. But in an appeal letter to Iran’s chief justice, Amiri said she had been jailed for refusing to go along with Iranian intelligence forces who asked her to spy for them.
