Iran frees Austrian man, 75, on five-day prison release

Massud Mossaheb is serving a 10-year prison sentence in Iran as his family insist he is in poor health

An Iranian soldier walks in a corridor of Evin prison. Alamy

Iran has given a 75-year-old Austrian citizen of Iranian origin, who was jailed on espionage charges, a five-day release from Tehran's Evin prison, his daughter said on Monday.

"He was freed for medical reasons after three and a half years' detention," Fanak Mani, the daughter of Massud Mossaheb, told AFP.

Mr Mossaheb is being held at Evin prison, near the capital Tehran.

A photo posted on the Free Massud Twitter account shows him smiling, supporting himself on a crutch, with his wife by his side.

Mr Mossaheb was the general secretary of the Austro-Iranian Society, an organisation that encourages exchanges between the two countries.

He was arrested in Tehran in January 2019 while he was accompanying a visiting group of Austrian scientists.

Accused of spying for Israel and Germany, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

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Mr Mossaheb's family has on several occasions raised concerns about the state of his health.

More than 10 dual-nationality Iranians from western countries are being held by the authorities in the country.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International have condemned their detention as "hostage-taking" for political ends, as a means to put pressure on western powers to win concessions.

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Iran, which does not recognise dual nationality, says that all of the people held have been detained after rulings by the courts.

Those detained include four Franco-Iranians, another Austro-Iranian, and others with dual nationality in Sweden, Germany, Britain and the US.