Father hopes release of Frenchwoman in Iran imminent

          
          Father hopes release of Frexhwonian in Iran in'ntdmil Reuters corn littp://www,reiters.corn /arficlePrint?arficleld—USTRE579 1H4200908 13
          : t REUTERS
          Print I Close this window
          Father hopes release of Frenchwoman in
          Iran imminent
          Thu Aug 13, 2009 4:43am EDT
          PARIS (Reuters) - The father of a French teaching assistant charged with
          spying in Iran said on Thursday he hoped his daughter would leave prison
          later in the day, after France agreed to provide bail for her conditional
          release.
          Iran has said Clotilde Reiss, a 24-year-old university teaching assistant, will
          not be able to leave the country even if she is released on bail, until the
          sentence is issued.
          Her father, Remi Reiss, said on French radio did not know the exact sum
          paid for her release after intense negotiations between Paris and Tehran,
          but estimated it at several hundreds of thousands of euros.
          “The most plausible scenario and the one we're hoping for is a conditional
          release in the next few hours, that is to say, this morning,” Remi Reiss told
          France I nter radio on Thursday.
          Given that Friday is a day of rest in Iran, he said the next likely date would
          be Saturday.
          Iran is staging mass trials, including of employees of the British and French
          embassies, aimed at uprooting the opposition and putting an end to protests
          that erupted after disputed June 12 presidential election.
          Britain and France have protested against the trials and called for the
          release of their staff.
          France has also said Reiss, who has been charged with spying and aiding a
          Western plot to topple the Iranian government, is innocent and should be
          freed.
          A staff member from the French embassy in Tehran has already been
          released from jail though she is still being prosecuted.
          (Reporting by Laure Bretton, writing by Sophie Hardach)
          © Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from
          this we te for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of
          Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the
          prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or
          trademarlG of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
          Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Edtorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and
          disclosure of relevant interests.
          1 of 1 8/13/2009 12:58 PM