BANGKOK (AP) – Thailand on Thursday said it had repatriated three Iranians involved in the 2016 bombings to Tehran after Iran released an Australian-Australian academic who had been in prison for more than two years on espionage charges.
When Thai authorities refused to retaliate and Iran branded the men as “economic activists,” the regime fired academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert and returned home to welcome the three men linked to a massive bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats.
The bombers carried Iranian flags over their shoulders, their faces largely obscured by black bezel caps and surgical masks. That was in contrast to other prisoner exchanges Trump has made with Iran in the past, in which television anchors have repeatedly said that their names and images broadcast by broadcasters reunite them with their families.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. However, Tehran has long denied being behind the bombing and hopes to take advantage of the forthcoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden to ease US sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump. Israeli officials immediately declined to comment on the release.
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was “thrilled and relieved” that 33-year-old Moore-Gilbert had been released, but added that it would take time for her to process her “terrible” ordeal.
“The tone of her voice was very encouraging, especially given what she was going through,” Morris told Australia’s Network Nine.
Thailand’s Deputy Attorney General Chatcom Akapin told the Associated Press that the Thai authorities had approved the transfer of prisoners under an agreement with Iran.
“This type of transport is not uncommon.” “We transfer prisoners to other countries and at the same time receive Thais all the time under such agreements.”
Only two Iranians were sent home on Wednesday under a prison transfer agreement, while one in September, said a Thai reform official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to reporters publicly on the issue. An apology was received. .
Under the transfer agreement, returnees are required to return the remaining sentences to their home country. Thailand has such agreements with about three dozen countries. However, an Iranian state television video of the men’s arrival indicated that it seemed unlikely to return to prison as officials played them flowers and praised God and Prophet Muhammad.
The plane carrying Iranian troops from Bangkok had a tail number with an Australian Australian private air carrier named Skytrader, which describes itself as “the main provider of air services to the government”. A company employee declined to comment when reached by AP.
The plane was scheduled to fly twice this week from Bangkok to Tehran and then to Doha, Qatar, according to flight information obtained by the AP. Officials declined to say where Moore-Gilbert was on Thursday, however, in a statement thanking Australia’s government and diplomats for his release, as well as supporters campaigning for his independence.
Despite its ordeal, Moore-Gilbert said that “Iran is nothing but respect, love and admiration for the great nation and its loving, generous and brave people.”
Asked about the exchange, the Australian prime minister said he “would not go into details, confirm it in one way or another.” However, Morrison said he could assure Austral Australia that nothing had been done to bias for their safety and that no prisoners had been released into Australia.
Thai police discovered the conspiracy of the three Iranians in 2012 when an accidental explosion ripped apart their rented Bangkok villa. At the time, Iran was suspected of two bombings in the former Soviet republic of Georgia targeting Indians and engineering diplomats amid tensions over its nuclear program. Meanwhile, its own nuclear scientists were killed in a series of attacks suspected of being carried out by Israel.
Police say an Iranian, Saeed Moradi, threw a grenade at officers, which cut off his leg and exploded in the back. Moradine was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to kill a police officer. Another man, Mohammad Kharzi, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for possessing explosives. The sentence of the third man, Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, was not immediately known.
Kharzai was an Iranian who was said to have been pardoned last September, a Thai reform official said.
His release along with Moore-Gilbert represents another case in which Iran arrested Westerner for widespread criticism of espionage allegations. Activists and UN investigators believe Iran is systematically penalizing their imprisonment for money or influence in negotiations with the West. Tehran denies this, although similar exchanges have taken place in the past.
Moore-Gilbert was a lecturer at the University of Melbourne on Middle Eastern studies when he was picked up at Tehran airport as he tried to leave the country in 2018 after attending an academic conference. He was sent to Tehran’s infamous Evin prison, convicted of espionage. To 10 years. He vehemently denied the allegations and maintained his innocence.
Moore-Gilbert wrote in letters to Morrison that she had been imprisoned for “misbehaving” with the Australian government.
His detention at a time of already rising tensions has strained relations between Iran and the West, which reached a fever pitch earlier this year following the assassination of a top Iranian general in Baghdad and a retaliatory Iranian strike on a US military base.
There was international pressure on Iran to release Moore-Gilbert. She went on frequent hunger strikes and was in solitary confinement for a long time. She also accused Iran of “grave violations” of her rights, including mental torture.
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Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBray and John Gambral in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Amir Wahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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