TEHRAN, April 16 (RIA Novosti) - Iran will release two Swedish nationals Monday held over a year in prison on espionage charges, an Iranian diplomat said.
The two men were detained in March 2006 and sentenced to two years in prison for illegally taking photos in the Gulf.
"Considering Iran's humane policy and requests from the convicts' relatives and Swedish authorities, the two nationals, detained in March 2006 for illegal conduct and sentenced two years in jail, have been pardoned and will be released today at 6:00 p.m. local time [2:30 p.m. GMT]," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said live on television.
The diplomat said the handover ceremony would be attended by ministry officials and the deputy head of the Swedish parliament foreign policy commission, on a visit in Tehran.
