Son Asks For Dad's Release From Tehran Prison

The family of a 76-year-old British businessman convicted of spying in Iran has told Sky News they are desperate for him to return to the UK.

Kamal Foroughi, who holds dual British-Iranian nationality, was working as a consultant for Malaysian energy company Petronas in Tehran when he was arrested by police in 2011.

He was charged with espionage and later sentenced to eight years in prison, where he has spent the last four years and nine months.

His family insist he is innocent but say the British Government is not doing enough to secure his release.

"We are very worried about his health, both physical and mental, and this is taking a great toll on him," Mr Foroughi's son Kamran told Sky News.

"Sometimes he gets very hopeful that he is about to be released, like in the last few weeks, then when it doesn't happen he gets extremely depressed.

"He just wants to be home again and to see his family."

Kamran Foroughi believes his father was in the wrong place at the wrong time and insists there was no evidence to support allegations on behalf of the Iranian authorities that he was a spy.

"There is no evidence to justify the charge," said Kamran.

"He has maintained his innocence and we were always convinced this was a big mistake.

"We had three years without any contact with him at all, then in 2014 we were allowed regular calls but one of the conditions is that we do not ask him about conditions inside the prison."

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he was hopeful the Iranians would look positively on the humanitarian case for releasing Mr Foroughi.

"My Iranian counterparts, we expect, will be in London for the Syria conference on Thursday and I shall speak to them about this issue," he told Sky News.

"The Iranians do not recognise dual nationality so they will not discuss him with us on the basis that he is a British national, but they are looking at these cases from a humanitarian perspective.

"Mr Foroughi is an elderly man with health issues and there are very strong humanitarian reasons for exercising the power of clemency that exists in Tehran, and I'm optimistic we will get somewhere."

http://news.sky.com/story/1634631/son-asks-for-dads-release-from-tehran-prison