UK Troops' Mistreatment Allegations "Unfounded" - Iranian Official

World | April 8, 2007, Sunday // 00:00
Bulgaria: UK Troops' Mistreatment Allegations "Unfounded" - Iranian Official Capt. Christopher Air, left, of the British Royal Marines and Lt. Felix Carman are pictured here during Friday's news conference. Photo by cnn.com

Allegations of mistreatment from the UK Troops seized last month in the Persian Gulf were unfounded and stage-managed, an Iranian official said Saturday, cited by Agence France-Presse.

"The mistreatment of the sailors is a lie," said Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Iran's presidential press adviser.

"By dictating certain statements made by the freed troops, the British authorities are seeking to improve their situation and diminish the pressure of British public opinion."

Jalal Sharafi, who was seized in Baghdad on Feb. 4, told Iran's official news agency, IRNA, that he had been kidnapped by an Iraqi organization operating under CIA supervision and that he was tortured. The United States has denied involvement in his abduction or release.

Meanwhile, the Vatican acknowledged that Pope Benedict XVI had written to Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hours before the group's release. The Guardian reported that the letter asked the supreme leader to do what he could to ensure the crew's return home by Easter.

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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