Pope Benedict XVI Helps UK Sailors, Marines Release

World | April 7, 2007, Saturday // 00:00

Pope Benedict XVI has contributed to the release of the British troops, who were held for two weeks by Iran, The Independent newspaper reported.

The Pope called the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to free the group of 15 UK military personnel, said to have violated international waters.

The Holy Father handed a letter to the Iranian ambassador to the Holy See, appealing to Ahmadinejad for a "goodwill gesture before Easter".

Before releasing the UK troops, Iran announced it pardoned them as a "gift" to Great Britain.

"I declare that the people of Iran and the government of Iran - in full power to place on trial the military people - to give amnesty and pardon to these 15 people and I announce their freedom and their return to the people of Britain," Ahmadinejad told a news conference.

The fifteen British Royal Navy sailors and marines were seized last month while conducting a routine inspection of a merchant vessel at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Iran said they had strayed into Iranian territorial waters, a claim which the UK vehemently denied.

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