The Iranian ambassador to New Zealand has told MPs in Parliament today that the two Kiwi travellers who were detained in Iran last year had been illegally taking photos in a restricted area.
Social media influencers Topher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray, who were on a world tour, were captured in July 2022 and detained for months as the New Zealand Government secretly worked to free them. They were eventually released in October.
Iranian ambassador Reza Nazar Ahari appeared before the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee today where National's Simon O'Connor asked him about the two New Zealanders who were taken "hostage" for four months.
Ahari replied that they weren't.
"It is not hostage. You know when two New Zealanders go to a place with a clear sign of not taking photo — it is a restricted area — they go there and take photo. We don't arrest them, we just took passport," he said.
"And you're saying here we took two hostage. This is example of what is happening in regard to my country — they have not been hostage.
"For some certain period of time they were free, but only passports were taken," he said.
Ahari told MPs that unfortunately when cases go to security services in Iran they take a very long time.
The Iranian government regularly arrests and detains tourists accusing them of taking photos or videos in restricted areas.
Ahari was also grilled about the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in Tehran in 2022 after being detained by Iran's religious morality police for not wearing a hijab correctly. Her death sparked protests in Iran and around the world.
The Iranian government has denied witness reports that Amini was severely beaten in custody and died as a result of police brutality.
Ahari told MPs that Amini's death was "kind of" an accident.
"She was one of our daughters, sisters.... we have not killed her by bullet. It is a kind of accident happened."
One MP interjected that she was beaten to death.
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman told Ahari that the New Zealand Embassy in Tehran had provided information to the committee revealing that at least 400 protesters have been executed by the Iranian government following Amini's killing.
The chairperson of the select committee Jenny Salesa later asked Ghahraman to refrain from publicly revealing the source of the committee's information.
The protest is responding to the state execution of two Iranian men - Mohammad Hosseini and Mohammad Karimi. (Source: 1News)
Ghahraman provided multiple photos to Ahari during the select committee, including of Amini lying in hospital beaten, and other Iranians who have keen killed or are facing execution.
Ahari denied the Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimate that 400 had been executed and said everyone who has been executed had committed a crime.
"I'm not defending that there is some execution, there is some torture," Ahari said, but he claimed it was necessary to combat foreign interference and terrorism.
Ahari also objected to National's foreign affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee repeated use of the term "regime" to describe the Iranian government.
Brownlee said in his 27-year political career the only protest he's ever attended on Parliament's forecourt was one about the oppression of women in Iran.
"There's no doubt in my head anyway, [I was] motivated by emotional response because I'm the father of two daughters, and I couldn't stand the possibility of them having lives that were so restricted by a government regime."
"Why you call our government, the government of Iran, regime?" Ahari responded. "Regime usually is called to a government which you don't have any recognition of that. You have bilateral relationship, formal with us, you have ambassador in our country, but you call our government regime?"
1News understands they were detained over a photo they allegedly took near a military base. (Source: 1News)
Brownlee explained he used the term regime because of Iran's morality police and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. He said it's not clear that they operate with a mandate from the Iranian people.
Woman Life Freedom spokesperson Samira Taghavi said the ambassador's appearance raises the question of why New Zealand even has diplomatic relations with Iran.
The group advocates for greater freedom for women in Iran.
"Trade between our two countries is tiny, and our governments have nothing in common on human rights. Many Iranian New Zealanders have called for his [Ahari's] expulsion and such relations that we do have could be handled via our embassy in Turkey," Taghavi said.
"Apart from keeping him employed and housed in a first-world country, why should our two countries maintain embassies?"
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