The family of Anoosheh Ashoori have said they are “delighted” he has been released from Iran and is returning to the UK.
Dual national Mr Ashoori, 68, a retired civil engineer, father and husband, was arrested in August 2017 while visiting his elderly mother in Tehran and was detained in Evin prison.
Another dual national, Morad Tahbaz, has been released from prison on furlough, with his sister saying the family is “devastated” by the decision.
A statement from Mr Ashoori’s family said: “We are delighted to confirm that Anoosheh has been released and will be returning to the UK today after five long years.
“This day has been a long time coming, and we are thankful for the efforts of everyone involved in bringing Anoosheh home.
“1,672 days ago our family’s foundations were rocked when our father and husband was unjustly detained and taken away from us.
“Now, we can look forward to rebuilding those same foundations with our cornerstone back in place.”
Despite living in the UK for 20 years, he was later convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and sentenced to prison for 10 years.
According to Amnesty International UK, Mr Ashoori was “subjected to torture, repeatedly interrogated without a lawyer present and forced to sign ‘confessions’ while sleep deprived”.
It described the prison conditions he was in as “overcrowded and unhygienic”.
In January 2020, Mr Ashoori’s wife Sherry Izadi, who lives in London, said she feared he had no “hope in hell” of being released.
She also told of how her husband attempted suicide twice and went on a 17-day hunger strike in protest against his detention.
Businessman and wildlife conservationist Mr Tahbaz, 66, who holds both UK and US citizenship has been released from prison on furlough.
We're devastated, we're extraordinarily surprised that the only British-born among the hostages has been left behind
His sister told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “It’s been very unfortunate that we’ve had to know about the recent things that have been happening through the press.
“I’m telling you this because we’re devastated, we’re extraordinarily surprised that the only British-born among the hostages has been left behind.”
She said that her family are “worried” for his health.
Mr Tahbaz had been in Iran conducting research into the country’s endangered animals with other conservationists as part of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation before his arrest in January 2018, according to Amnesty International.
Iranian authorities accused them of collecting classified information about its strategic areas under the pretext of carrying out environmental and scientific projects.
In November 2019 he was handed a 10-year jail sentence for “corruption on Earth” and ordered to return money he allegedly received from the US government for his services.
Amnesty International said there was evidence Mr Tahbaz was among those subjected to “torture and other ill-treatment” including prolonged solitary confinement.
