UAE | Government
Iran detains UAE men on fishing trip
Two UAE nationals and two Indian helpers have gone missing while on a fishing trip off Sharjah, and their families say they have been detained by Iranian authorities.
- By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 March 1, 2006
Sharjah: Two UAE nationals and two Indian helpers have gone missing while on a fishing trip off Sharjah, and their families say they have been detained by Iranian authorities.
Police did not identify the nationals but said that they are government employees from Sharjah. The UAE Foreign Ministry has initiated efforts to have the men released, a top official said.
Ahmad Abdul Rahman Al Jarman, Assistant Undersecretary for Specialist Affairs, said the ministry has officially asked Mohammad Ali Hadi Najafabadi, the Iranian Ambassador to the UAE, about the reasons behind the men's detention, and has sought their release as soon as possible.
The men have now been missing for a week.
"They went on a fishing trip last Wednesday when they were spotted by the Iranian Coast Guard who arrested them and took them to an unknown place," said a relative of one of the UAE nationals. "When we lost touch with them, we informed Sharjah Police who confirm that they had been detained by the Iranian authorities," the relative told Gulf News.
Islands issue
The families were told to contact the Foreign Ministry. "We do not even know where they are. We had received information that they are either being held on Abu Mousa Island or in Bandar Abbas."
The two men have not been allowed to contact their families, the relative said, adding that all their belongings and their boat have been seized.
In Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, said before leaving for a GCC ministerial council meeting in Riyadh that the issue of Iran's continuous occupation of the UAE islands the greater and lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa will be discussed during the deliberations, WAM reported.
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