An Iranian prosecutor charged that two German journalists detained on charges of spying had been deceived by an Iranian human rights activist in Germany about interviews they allegedly conducted in Iran, according to an English-language broadcast by state Press TV Friday.
The two reporters from Bild am Sonntag weekly were arrested in October after they wanted to interview the son and the lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a jailed woman whose plight has been the subject of an international human rights campaign, dpa reported.
Mohammadi-Ashtiani repeated her alleged previous confessions on TV Friday that she committed adultery and helped murder her husband. Press TV noted that Mohammadi-Ashtiani had not been sentenced to death by stoning, contrary to widespread reports that have provoked outrage in the international community.
The two German journalists entered Iran as tourists and had no media accreditation. They were also charged with cooperation with Iranian dissidents in Germany.
The activist in question, Mina Ahadi, had arranged interviews for the reporters with Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son, Sadshad, and with her lawyer, Hootan Kian, according to Press TV.
The German journalists have denied conducting any interviews, according to Press TV's account of its own interview with the two reporters. But Press TV also showed a photo of one of the reporters allegedly in an office with Kian using a tape recorder.
Press TV portrayed Ahadi, who founded the activist group International Committee Against Stoning in Cologne, Germany, as the real culprit in the case.
Iranian prosecutor Mussa Khalolohai, the top state's attorney in Azerbaijan Province, said Ahadi had terrorist connections through her and her murdered husband's activities with a left-wing militant Kurdish separatist group that he charged had killed more than 2,000 civilians.
According to Khalolohai, the activist was using the case of Mohammadi-Ashtiani to whip up Western sentiment against Iran, and had convinced the lawyer to get the son, Sadshad, to cooperate with the reporters, saying it would help his mother's case to have foreign publicity - despite his hesitation to cooperate.
Press TV portrayed the journalists as collateral damage of Ahadi's manipulations, setting a tone quite different from Iran's portrayal of the two reporters as spies.
Earlier this week, Iran's Foreign Ministry indicated the two reporters might be released.
"As Christmas is approaching, the two German prisoners might be released and be reunited with their families," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday.