Australia yesterday called on Tehran to treat “humanely” three citizens detained in Iran, as it emerged two of those arrested were a travel-blogging couple on an overland trip to Britain.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said that she had raised the cases “many times” with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif, including as recently as last week.
“The government has been making efforts to ensure they are treated fairly, humanely and in accordance with international norms,” she said, adding that there was “no reason” to believe the arrests were politically motivated.
Perth-based Jolie King and Mark Firkin had been documenting their journey from home to Britain on social media for the past two years, but went silent after posting updates from Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan about 10 weeks ago.
“Our families hope to see Mark and Jolie safely home as soon as possible,” a statement released on behalf of their relatives said.
Before setting off, the couple had written on their blog that they “can’t wait to share all of our experiences and the beauty of all the different destinations and countries we will be visiting.”
News of the arrests came after the Australian government announced that it would contribute a frigate and surveillance aircraft to a US-led mission to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with tensions high in the Gulf region, but Payne said the detention of the couple and a third person — reported to be a British-Australian woman and academic — was not related to broader global issues.
“We have no reason to think that these arrests are connected to international concern over Iran’s nuclear program, United Nations sanction enforcement or maritime security of the safety of civilian shipping,” Payne said.
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