Families of four Europeans jailed in Iran demand greater efforts for their release
The families of four European Union citizens held in Iranian prisons have called on the German and Austrian governments to punish Tehran over its hostage-taking policy. The families of the dual citizens — Germans Nahid Taghavi and Jamshid Sharmahd and Austrians Massud Mossaheb and Kamran Ghaderi — called on the two foreign ministers to show that human rights were not just “empty phrases” and demand their release. They questioned whether the two governments were doing enough to confront Iran over what they described as its “hostage-taking” policy — targeting foreign citizens to use as pawns in a broader diplomatic dispute with European governments. “Are all measures being taken to free our loved ones?” the families of the four asked, in an open letter to foreign ministers Annalena Baerbock of Germany and Alexander Schallenberg of Austria. “When, if not now, would it be time to publicly name our loved ones; to stand behind them, your citizens, and to demand their release with all ve...