I feel very sorry for every innocent person incarcerated in the jails of despotic non-democracies. Horrendous.
And they may be there for years.
Iran is so politically charged now, not just the internal regime of their Islamic republic, but a glance over the World News pages over the last year shows what a tinderbox the whole region is. And therefore how knife edge the relationship with the West.
Their trip seems to have made them easy to identify and grab. They are hostages. Collateral. A ‘just in case’ card held by Iran.
As such I am frustrated that people, at this time, not only put themselves at risk but actually added to the risk of UK security - albeit in a small way. But they are hostages and will likely be used as such.
Against the UK, a country they left in 2019 for ‘a better quality of life’.
On a separate note, I find the whole premise distasteful. That they ‘discover’ that oh, how surprising, people in these other countries are actually lovely! The educated, cultured Iranians have a long long history of literature, poetry and art that enables them to illuminate themselves, thank you very much. They don’t need a Western traveller to validate them. It’s all a bit Colonial and Noble Savage. And patronising.
Why shouldn’t a Mullah be a kind and well mannered hospitable person? Especially in a hospitable culture? Unless you have the view that all Muslims are evil? Imagine an ‘oh wow, how polite was a Cotswolds vicar, AMAZING!’ post by an American tourist…
None of that makes it ok for them or any person to be captured and held hostage / ill treated. They must be terrified. Alongside every innocent person held by regimes where human rights are not recognised.
Sadly, horribly for them, because their currency is high as bargaining chips, I don’t feel optimistic about diplomatic negotiations to free them.
But I hope I am wrong