Iran Frees British Diplomat; Beating by Captors Told
A senior British diplomat was released Friday after being abducted at gunpoint in Tehran and reportedly being beaten.
A Foreign Office spokesman said that Edward Chaplin, 36, first secretary at the British interests section of the Swedish Embassy, returned home after being held overnight by Revolutionary Guards from the Central Komite.
He called the Central Komite a revolutionary group loosely attached to Iran’s Ministry of the Interior.
“It certainly looks as if there was official involvement,” the Foreign Office spokesman said. He said that Britain will press Iran for an explanation and an apology.
A colleague of Chaplin’s in Iran said the diplomat was “savagely beaten” in front of his wife and two small children while struggling with the kidnapers. However, Chaplin did not suffer any broken bones and is “as well as could be expected,” the Foreign Office said.
The official Iranian news agency IRNA said Chaplin was “temporarily released” after being arrested on unspecified charges.
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