To Have Limited Sympathy for the Australian Vloggers Detained in Iran?

[NikeDeLaSwoosh]

Obviously I have the usual human sympathy for young people going something so terribly traumatic, but seriously, what were they thinking?

It seems from the limited information currently available that they had deliberately planned their travels to encompass counties with a 'bad rep' for tourists apparently to disprove those reputations.

Then to fly a drone? How incredibly naive.

The tensions in the Straights of Hormuz have been well-documented in the press, and the plight of Nazanin Zachariah-Ratcliffe is never far from the public eye, how could they not have been aware of this?

It saddens me so much when instagrammers risk their lives, liberty, and for women, their chance of motherhood just for the insta-likes.

That poor couple, but gosh what a foolish thing to have done.

AIBU?

What do people think spies look like?

Well quite. Is anyone here in a position to know beyond doubt that they aren’t guilty as charged? ‘Travel vlogger’ is a pretty good cover, after all: lots of international travel, taking lots of photos and talking to lots of people, Insta account as ‘proof’ they’re adventurous tourists.

It’s straight out of the ‘Philip & Elizabeth Jennings: Spying 101’ handbook

onalongsabbatical
Whatquestionmark OP hasn't been drone-flying in Iran though, has she?

An irrefutable point, one would think.

I am amused at a post accusing others of ignorance whilst making SUCH an ignorant mistake.

Not really sure you can claim that OP making a mistake on a Mumsnet post is on quite the same scale as getting yourself arrested for appearing to engage in espionage while on holiday in a country known for human rights violations, can you? Because however bad you consider OP's ignorance to be, it's not going to land her in a foreign jail for ten years.

I think they’re twats and if they get out they will be insta famous, have millions of followers as a result of their imprisonment and probably resume their inane self conscious posing around the world.
Yawn
I’m too old for this shit.

...or have I?

resume their inane self conscious posing around the world.

I doubt it. A stint in an Iranian jail, possibly looking at a 10-year sentence, would knock the inanity out of anyone. I genuinely do feel sorry for them.

They have gone to try and raise awareness

Well if that’s what they said, it must be true.

If they are actually spies they’d have confessed instantly then taken their cyanide pill.

Yup @Gardai

I'm so pleased I made the majority of my own youthful foolish mistakes in the pre-insta/smartphone world.

I've just remembered another odd pair - the Americans who went to Afghanistan and were 'captured' by the Taliban, but everyone including the wife's family thought the husband was somehow complicit. Wonder what happened to them?

@Juells I’d obviously feel sorry for them if they got 10 years.

I feel sorry for them, but still, there's a certain amount of hubris as well as naivety in what they're doing. Flying the drone was obviously to get a dramatic photograph of their 4x4 and the landscape.

They were very foolish, I still feel sorry for them though.

Juells that family got out a couple of years ago. Trump took lots of credit for it so you might have zoned it out. www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/12/pakistan-rescues-canadian-american-family-hostages-haqqani

Raise awareness of what?

Although pp's have a good point. They could be spies, or inadvertently been taking pictures near a classified location.

I have an interest in Iran as my husband is British-Iranian. Everything I've read about travelling in Iran says do not take pictures unless you have permission, do not sit with an electronic device out in public if it can be helped, dress according to law etc.

They really can't have done much reading.

I feel sorry for them but they probably should have avoided going there and flying a drone there. Iran has recently decided to become worse.
I hope they can get out shortly but I suspect the Iranians want to do a prisoner swap or release them in return for concessions from the west which will be unacceptable. I went there twice on business about 10 years ago (to give talks - a work thing) and certainly was aware of the risks even then.

Iran usually seizes people with dual nationality so this time it is different so could be very bad. It seems to have chosen to become even more of a nation to avoid. It is doing itself no favours.

Their Instagram is not even that interesting, just themselves posing, banal remarks, their van, her cooking (with her DP describing her as a 'lovely little cook' )

I have sympathy for them

For being so foolish.

There is something about living your life online that makes many people make incredibly foolish decisions, to over share, the amount of followers giving them a false sense of entitlement and security

What exactly were they trying to achieve

You should always be aware of issues in countries you travel to and that laws and attitudes are very different. You would not need to do much research to know that Iran’s hostility towards the west is high at present

Why is she risking motherhood? Are they going to rip her uterus out as punishment?

Interesting thread

This is not naivety, it is 100% arrogance. Either that, or they are spies.

Also, since when is this type of thing a 'career'

If you are stupid enough to travel to regions, countries or areas that are devoid of reasonable laws, customs and people that have realised that this is the 21st century and not run by some brainless religious fervour then you deserve what you get.
I've been to war zones, had colleagues murdered, been surrounded by 50 locals waving machetes demanding money when over 20 miles from any town or village. Had to deal with corrupt police, customs and immigration officials and witnessed kidnappings where £12 M was demanded.I've had a loaded rifle shoved up my nose, had demanded money, been around when others were killed and still survived. I have been in back alleys in Cairo, Africa and the Far East and still retained my body parts by knowing when to speak or not and acting appropriately. Too many of todays'' snowflakes have zero commonsense as proved by this case. Now they expect others to help them.

onalongsabbatical

Yes, I googled after posting. She got custody of the children and went back to Pennsylvania. He's not allowed contact her or the children. He's been charged with sexual assault, don't know of whom. Very dodgy character - she claims he agreed they wouldn't go to Afghanistan, but then brought them there at the last minute. He was fascinated with everything to do with terrorism, so naturally he brought his pregnant wife there so he could further his journalistic career.

Iran is very tough. A cousin is married to an Iranian who left Iran with her family as a child ('wrong kind of Muslims'). They (couple) had a Muslim ceremony six months after their wedding (civil ceremony) so they could safely travel to Iran to visit the bride's extended family. They went into everything in the greatest detail before risking travel to Iran. They would have been arrested if they hadn't had the proper wedding ceremony.

ShatnersWig

Squidward Beat me to it

And me. I’m sure that wasn’t meant to be at all provocative...

OP hasn't been drone-flying in Iran though, has she?
None says she has

She just comes across as judgmental, ignorant and arrogant, funnily exactly what she is condemning in those youngsters. it's just a bit of OMH gossip to her. I think that's in bad taste.