Morad Tahbaz: British-US national detained in Iran on hunger strike

A British-US national temporarily freed from prison in Iran before being sent back to jail days later is now at a hotel, the Foreign Office has said.

Morad Tahbaz, 66, who also has Iranian citizenship, was released on furlough the same day two other British dual nationals were freed.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori returned to the UK, but Mr Tahbaz remained in Iran.

The Foreign Office said it would keep pushing for Mr Tahbaz's return home.

A spokesman said he had been moved from Iran's Evin prison to a hotel in the capital, Tehran.

Mr Tahbaz was doing conservation work when he was held in Iran in January 2018.

He and seven other conservationists were accused of collecting classified information about Iran's strategic areas under the pretext of carrying out environmental and scientific projects.

The conservationists - members of Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation - had been using cameras to track endangered species including the Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard, according to Amnesty International.

All eight denied the charges and Amnesty International said there was evidence that they had been subjected to torture in order to extract forced "confessions".

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison with his colleagues on vague charges of spying for the US and undermining Iran's security.

On Friday, Mr Tahbaz's family told the BBC they had received "devastating news" that he had been returned to prison - two days after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said he had been released to his home in Tehran on furlough.

The family said they were "distraught" and were worried that after the "euphoria" over the release of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori, the UK government hadn't "pressed the Iranian authorities for Morad's freedom in the same way".

In response, the Foreign Office said Iran had told UK officials Mr Tahbaz had been taken to Evin prison to fit an ankle tag that should have been fitted before his release and it hoped to see him released back to his home in the "coming hours".

It is unclear if Mr Tahbaz has been fitted with an ankle tag by the Iranian authorities.

In a fresh statement on Sunday evening, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have been in touch with Morad's family throughout the day and continue to lobby the Iranian authorities at the highest levels to allow him to return home immediately, as the Iranian government committed to doing."

Last year, UN human rights experts warned that Mr Tahbaz had been denied access to proper treatment in prison despite his health condition continuously deteriorating.