Monday, April 09, 2007
Iran airs new video of British sailors
Iran, U.K., Security
(AP) - Iranian television broadcast video footage Sunday showing a British navy crew playing chess and watching television during their nearly two-week captivity in Iran, saying the footage refutes the sailors' and marines' claims that they were mistreated. Crew members told reporters two days ago after returning to Britain that they had been blindfolded, held in isolation, frightened and coerced into falsely saying that they had entered Iranian waters before they were seized.
Some of the video clips, briefly aired on Iran's state-run Arabic satellite TV channel Al-Alam, showed several of the eight sailors and seven marines dressed in track suits and playing chess and table tennis. Other clips showed crew members watching soccer on television and eating at a long table decorated with flowers. Crew members could be heard laughing and chatting.
A newscaster who spoke over the beginning of the footage said the video proved "the sailors had complete liberty during their detention, which contradicts what the sailors declared after they arrived in Britain." On Friday, Lt. Felix Carman, who was in charge of the crew when it was captured March 23, said the sailors and marines were only allowed to socialize for the benefit of the Iranian media. "We were kept in isolation until the last few nights, when we were allowed to get together for a few hours, in the full glare of the Iranian media," Carman said at a news conference. "But that was very much a setup, very much a stunt for Iranian propaganda."
The crew members also insisted that they were in Iraqi waters when they were seized. Iran dismissed the sailors' news conference as propaganda. Two days before their release, Tehran had pledged not to show more video of the captured crew. The British Foreign Office did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Sunday.
Some of the video clips, briefly aired on Iran's state-run Arabic satellite TV channel Al-Alam, showed several of the eight sailors and seven marines dressed in track suits and playing chess and table tennis. Other clips showed crew members watching soccer on television and eating at a long table decorated with flowers. Crew members could be heard laughing and chatting.
A newscaster who spoke over the beginning of the footage said the video proved "the sailors had complete liberty during their detention, which contradicts what the sailors declared after they arrived in Britain." On Friday, Lt. Felix Carman, who was in charge of the crew when it was captured March 23, said the sailors and marines were only allowed to socialize for the benefit of the Iranian media. "We were kept in isolation until the last few nights, when we were allowed to get together for a few hours, in the full glare of the Iranian media," Carman said at a news conference. "But that was very much a setup, very much a stunt for Iranian propaganda."
The crew members also insisted that they were in Iraqi waters when they were seized. Iran dismissed the sailors' news conference as propaganda. Two days before their release, Tehran had pledged not to show more video of the captured crew. The British Foreign Office did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Sunday.
Labels: Al-Alam television, Bristish sailors, Iran, Lt. Felix Carman, U.K., video
Friday, March 30, 2007
British marine apologises on Arabic TV
Iran, U.K., Security
(AP) - One of the 15 British service members held captive in Iran appeared Friday on the government's Arabic-language TV and apologized for entering Iranian waters "without permission." The serviceman, Royal Marine rifleman Nathan Thomas Summers, said he was aware that the incident in which he was seized was the second time since 2004 that British military personnel had entered Iranian waters.
"Again I deeply apologize for entering your waters," Summers said in the clip broadcast on Al-Alam television. "We trespassed without permission." Summers was shown sitting with another male serviceman and the female British sailor Faye Turney against a floral curtain. Both men wore camouflage fatigues with a label saying "Royal Navy" on their chests and a small British flag stitched to their left sleeves.
The three were among 15 British sailors and marines detained by naval units of the Revolutionary Guards on March 23 while patrolling near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway for smugglers.
Britain has demanded their release, insisting that they were in Iraqi waters at the time they were intercepted. But Iran has demanded that Britain acknowledge that its sailors had violated Iranian waters, with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying Thursday that such an admission would help to secure their release.
Minutes before Summers appeared on TV, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said that he had given a statement. "We entered Iranian waters without permission and we were detained by Iranian coast guards. I would like to apologize for this to the Iranian people," the agency quoted him as saying. "Since our detention on March 23, everything has been very good and I'm completely satisfied about the situation," Summers added.
The TV showed pictures of the light British naval boats at the time of the sailors' seizure. The helicopter flying in the background was British, the Al-Alam newscaster said. Iran has demanded that Britain acknowledge that its sailors had violated Iranian waters, with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying Thursday that such an admission would help to secure the release of the 15 service members.
"Again I deeply apologize for entering your waters," Summers said in the clip broadcast on Al-Alam television. "We trespassed without permission." Summers was shown sitting with another male serviceman and the female British sailor Faye Turney against a floral curtain. Both men wore camouflage fatigues with a label saying "Royal Navy" on their chests and a small British flag stitched to their left sleeves.
The three were among 15 British sailors and marines detained by naval units of the Revolutionary Guards on March 23 while patrolling near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway for smugglers.
Britain has demanded their release, insisting that they were in Iraqi waters at the time they were intercepted. But Iran has demanded that Britain acknowledge that its sailors had violated Iranian waters, with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying Thursday that such an admission would help to secure their release.
Minutes before Summers appeared on TV, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said that he had given a statement. "We entered Iranian waters without permission and we were detained by Iranian coast guards. I would like to apologize for this to the Iranian people," the agency quoted him as saying. "Since our detention on March 23, everything has been very good and I'm completely satisfied about the situation," Summers added.
The TV showed pictures of the light British naval boats at the time of the sailors' seizure. The helicopter flying in the background was British, the Al-Alam newscaster said. Iran has demanded that Britain acknowledge that its sailors had violated Iranian waters, with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying Thursday that such an admission would help to secure the release of the 15 service members.
Labels: Al-Alam television, British navy, Iran, Manouchehr Mottaki, Nathan Thomas Summers, Royal Marine rifleman, U.K.
