Couple held in Iran

[StrawDonkey]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c626p6pz7xlo

AIBU to not understand why anyone would go on a motorcycle trip to Iran? Advice is not to go there at all but I can understand that someone desperate to see family would take a risk.

Last year. A German-Iranian national iirc, accused of terror offences who had been in prison for 5 odd years after a trial that - surprise! - didn’t pass muster under international law.

Bear in mind that the vast majority of Western visitors to Iran are dual-nationals traveling on their Iranian passports through necessity because of the visa situation (ie you can’t generally get one).

Books on how flashcards expressing your feelings can help cope with waiting for the British Embassy to rescue you.

How singing kum ba yah helps make friends with the prison guards.

Making heart shaped signs with hands and posting on social media shows you have shown those Iranians how to connect with you. Aren't we great 👏

Delivering lectures in Australia about look, we showed you what a pretty country it is, you all have to just ignore advice and get out there more. 🤑💩

Yes to all of that @ImmediateReaction - absolutely everything they have done since whizzing over a land border on a motorbike (🙄) has been an absolute gift to the fundamentalist nutters in charge.

@ImmediateReaction And what it really means to be a human. They'll certainly have time to try and solve that centuries old mystery but I fear the academics in Australia may have to wait a bit for the rivetting presentation they were promised.

Also don't underestimate the power of a quick blast of kum ba yah. Should I ever find myself incarcerated indefinitely in Iran it would be one guarantee of release. Once the guards had been subjected to my unique tone deaf abilities they wouldn't be able to get me out fast enough!

So a dual-national? I asked about Westerners who are not dual-nationals.

This couple, however stupid, are not at risk of being executed.

Sorry @Westfacing - I posted a fulsome (waffly) explanation, then trimmed it down and it didn’t make sense.

Basically, UK/US/Canada citizens can only travel to Iran with a visa, which is rarely granted. (Theoretically, you need to be with an organised group and have a local guide accompanying you at all times, and you might also need to bribe an official because they don’t like handing visas out to the likes of us - we are infidels of Little Satan/Big Satan (in the regime’s eyes) so why would they?

The vast, vast majority of Westerners visiting Iran WILL be dual nationals (like my DH), even if they have lived outside Iran not speaking Farsi for decades. So saying “not dual nationals” doesn’t really make sense because normally they’re the only ones that CAN visit.

Having a UK passport does not really offer this couple any protection. The regime doesn’t give a fuck about the publicity and might want to set an example. Their only thing they have going for them is that the regime and the UK have an ongoing scuffle over debt owed by the UK, giving them some currency. I think a death sentence is unlikely, but not impossible. If they’d sneaked in and kept their heads down I suspect the outlook would be better, but every single idiotic thing they have done whilst in Iran says “spy” if you are a paranoid fundamentalist who hates the West.

I was chatting to my 90 year old Dad today in his care home. He had to travel to Iran on business a couple of times (he was an engineer for a large company) in the 1980s. I mentioned this case to him. He said he hadn't really wanted to go as even at that time it wasn't considered all that safe. It wasn't on the FO list as somewhere not to visit, but there was concern. He said his company said they had to make the decision for themselves whether to go or not and they wouldn't be thought less of if they backed out. The rest of Dad's team said they would go... so he felt obliged to say yes as well.

They stayed in a hotel in Tehran. Behind the reception was a tiled slogan in large letters laid into the wall, it read 'Down With The Great American Satan'!!

Dad knew then what this couple seem to have thought was some kind of great revelation - he was saying how lovely and hospitable the people were and how beautiful the country.

But even then the regime felt very oppressive.
You just don't fuck around in these places!

I strongly suspect there's been some champagne corks popping over in Oz as the academics breathe a collective sigh of relief that they won't be subjected to the couple's turgid twaddle.

I pity the poor Iranian inmates who are having to share cell space with these two. As if being incarcerated in some of the most brutal prisons on the planet wasn't suffering enough?

They are a silly greedy pair on the make. And it's gone a bit pear shaped.

No I’m sure they’re less cocky upbeat now.

God help them if/when they are free through. A 3 hour presentation on how to be human and how to survive an Iranian jail with just the power of positive thoughts. Followed by a sing song of "heal the world" or something.

Can I ask why they were issued with a visa given that they aren't dual nationals if it's that rare?

What is that rare? You can get a tourist visa when you book a tour. The foreign office advices against all travel to Iran. If only that meant they now didn’t have to deal with this mess. I feel for the staff and the ambassador.

Applying for a visa
If you choose to travel to Iran against FCDOadvice, apply for a visa well in advance of your travel. The application process for an Iranian visa can be long and unpredictable.
If you want to travel to Iran with a British passport, the Iranian Embassy has told FCDO you must either apply as part of an organised tour or have a sponsor in Iran to get a visa.

Totally agree with this , they must be complete idiots .

Just pasted this from above, sorry I should have quoted their post with my question re visas.

Vinvertebrate · Today 18:28

Sorry @Westfacing - I posted a fulsome (waffly) explanation, then trimmed it down and it didn’t make sense.

Basically, UK/US/Canada citizens can only travel to Iran with a visa, which is rarely granted. (Theoretically, you need to be with an organised group and have a local guide accompanying you at all times, and you might also need to bribe an official because they don’t like handing visas out to the likes of us - we are infidels of Little Satan/Big Satan (in the regime’s eyes) so why would they?

The vast, vast majority of Westerners visiting Iran WILL be dual nationals (like my DH), even if they have lived outside Iran not speaking Farsi for decades. So saying “not dual nationals” doesn’t really make sense because normally they’re the only ones that CAN visit.

Very sad story. It should be reasonable to believe that if you have a visa and don’t break the law, you’ll be safe (other than from criminals). But unfortunately that’s not the case in places like Iran.

It would be sensible to read the FOC guidance and adhere to it!

Having a visa means nothing!

Did they have a visa then?

I feel sorry for their family who probably pleaded with them not to go.

Yes, they did. And they had a guide. Though whether he was with them when they were arrested is unclear.

The visa has nothing to do with anything. A tourist visa gives you the right to be a tourist, but they interviewed and recorded locals. For Iran that’s classed as espionage.

A statement, translated from Persian, said: "The individuals entered Iran under the guise of tourists and, under the guise of investigative and research work, have collected information in several provinces of the country."

On the radio they said they had a drone too 🤷🏻‍♀️

the foreign office guidelines are very very clear.

You are at risk of arrest, detention and a death sentence if you travel to Iran.
British nationals are at increased risk of questioning and detention by the Iranian authorities. See Safety and security.

I also don’t think posting things like this while they were there was wise.

Interesting comment on one of their Facebook posts

As an Iranian, I am appalled by the entitlement of people like you, who, despite freedom-seeking Iranians' warnings, go to Iran and become a bargaining chip for the terrorist regime. People like you are accomplices in the murder of Iranian people. Every time, you earn the regime billions in cash or get dangerous terrorists released from Western prisons and let loose on the streets of Iran to kill us. You are a disgrace to humanity. You deserve what happened to you. We don't deserve the pain you'll bring on us.

An extremely valid point.