Iran: British detainee Morad Tahbaz temporarily freed from jail

A British campaigner imprisoned in Iran has been temporarily released with an electronic tag, the UK government has confirmed. 

Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American wildlife conservationist who holds UK citizenship, was freed from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Wednesday. 

“Morad is a tri-national and we continue to work closely with the United States to urge the Iranian authorities to permanently release him and allow his departure from Iran,” it added in a statement. 

Tahbaz was detained by Iran in 2018 alongside several other wildlife conservationists who were accused of spying. 

Iran: Fate of other detained British citizens still up in the air

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In March, he was briefly furloughed as part of the deal which saw fellow British detainees Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori fly back home to the UK. 

The deal also saw the UK settle a £400m ($481m) historic debt for the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks to Tehran, which had been cancelled following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Tahbaz’s daughter Roxanne Tahbaz confirmed to the Guardian on Wednesday that her father had been temporarily reunited with the family in Iran. 

“I am glad he can be with my mother, who is also in Iran on a travel ban, and that this furlough will allow him to receive the medical attention he urgently needs,” she said. 

“However, the UK government’s work is unfinished. My father is a UK-born national and he and my mother should have been on the flight with Nazanin and Anoosheh four months ago. They should be free. Home is not in Iran, home is with their children.”

She said she hoped that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is campaigning to become the UK's next prime minister in the coming months, would ensure his unconditional release.