Tehran frees three Jewish spies early

Iran has granted early release to three Jewish men convicted two years ago of spying for Israel, Jewish community sources said yesterday.

The men were part of an original group of 13 Jews whose arrest in 1999 and subsequent closed-door trial provoked widespread condemnation by Western governments and Jewish organisations.

Ten Jews and two Muslims were eventually sentenced to prison terms of up to 13 years for taking part in a spy ring based in the southern city of Shiraz. Two of the Jewish men have already served their sentences and been released.

Javid Beit-Yakov, Farzad Kashi and Shahrokh Paknahad were released on Thursday, between three and five years before they had completed their jail terms.

"They were told that they were released for a long holiday after serving about three years in prison," said a Jewish source who asked not to be named. The rest of the prison term might change to a suspended sentence," another source said.

Several appeals have been lodged on behalf of the Jewish prisoners whose jail terms were reduced to a maximum of nine years in September 2000. "We are hopeful that the others will be released soon," the first source said.

According to prosecutors at the trial, one of the group's ring-leaders, Hamid "Danny" Tefileen, held wild parties in Shiraz to lure informants. Israel condemned Iran for the convictions and Richard Holbrooke, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at that time, called the trial a "kangaroo proceeding".

Iran's 30,000-strong Jewish community is the largest in the Middle East outside Israel. Iran's constitution guarantees a Jewish representative in parliament and recognises Jewish laws on personal status including marriage, divorce, inheritance and burial.