'No doubt' Iran freed Australian bloggers in prisoner swap

Release of Iranian Reza Dehbashi Kivi and Australian couple are linked, his lawyer claims

Reza Dehbashi dismissed the Australian charges as "a misunderstanding" and "unfair". Courtesy IRIB TV

The lawyer representing an Iranian scientist who was freed after more than a year detained in Australia said he did "not doubt for a second” Reza Dehbashi Kivi’s release was linked to Iran freeing two Australian citizens on the same day.

British-Australian national Jolie King and her partner, Australian Mark Firkin, were held for three months for allegedly flying a drone near a military site in Tehran.

Mr Dehbashi Kivi was doing research at the University of Queensland when he was detained 13 months ago by Australian authorities.

His release and return to Iran came despite the US asking for him to be extradited to face charges of conspiring to export American-made electronic military devices to Iran.

Pouyan Afshar, his lawyer, told The National that his client was charged a decade after the alleged events, shortly after the end of the US-Iran nuclear deal as part of a campaign to put "maximum pressure" on Iran.

“There were big holes in the evidence against him," Mr Afshar said. "It was a pretty weak case. It would have been chucked out in a few days.

“The US only pressed charges 10 years later after the nuclear deal was abandoned. It was a few days short, I think, of the statute of limitations.

"I can’t for one moment offer any other explanation than it was part of trying to put ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran.”

Australian Attorney General Christian Porter said he decided against extradition to the US because of the specifics of Mr Dehbashi Kivi's case.

Mr Porter said it was the long-standing policy of the Australian government to “not comment on the details behind its consideration of particular cases”.

"While it is likely that because of Mr Dehbashi Kivi's nationality some will speculate regarding this matter, consistent with prior practice I do not intend to comment further on the particular details of this case, particularly when any such response from me may diminish our government's capacity to deal with future matters of this type in Australia's best interests,” he said.

“This is not the first extradition matter in which a person has not ultimately been surrendered by Australia to the country seeking their extradition."

The National contacted the US embassy in Australia for comment but has not received a response.

Mr Afshar said he only found out about Mr Dehbashi Kivi’s release on Saturday night, but was aware that the foreign ministers of the two countries, Marise Payne and Javad Zarif, had been in discussions for some time “about the two Australians”.

He said he "was not surprised at all" by the timing of his client's release.

Ms Payne announced on Saturday that Iranian authorities had agreed to drop all charges against Ms King and Mr Firkin after negotiations between consular officials.

The Australians, who were producing a travel blog documenting an overland journey from Australia to London through Asia Minor, issued a statement through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

"We are grateful for the efforts of the Australian government in helping secure our release," they said. "While we understand the intense public interest, we do not wish to comment further at this time.

“We know there are others who remain in detention in Iran, including a fellow Australian, and believe intense media coverage may not be helpful for efforts to bring them home.”

Donald Rothwell, an Australian National University expert on international law, said the releases had the hallmarks of a deal.

"It is the inevitable conclusion when one looks at the facts," Mr Rothwell told AP.

"Normally in prisoner swap matters, the details are held very closely by the relevant governments until such time as the prisoners have been swapped and handed over to the relevant authorities and returned to their homeland.

"That's designed so that nothing untoward happens during the process. That is consistent with what we've seen here."

He said that although such swaps were common during the Cold War, "this is very exceptional in terms of Australia's practices".

Ms Payne said the government “worked very hard through diplomatic channels during that time to secure their release and to ensure they were treated appropriately while they were detained”.

She then referred to Australian academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was arrested in Iran almost one year ago and recently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on charges that have yet to be made public.

“I would also note that there is a third Australian remaining in detention in Iran," Ms Payne said. "The Australian government is continuing to seek her return to Australia.

"Discussions with authorities in Iran on that matter are ongoing so I would not make further comment on that case in particular."

Ms Payne said the discussions about Dr Moore-Gilbert “are very long-term negotiations".