Watchdog

Two former detainees released in a prisoner swap between France and Iran have returned to their home countries after each having spent months in confinement.

French researcher Roland Marchal arrived in Paris on March 21, with his support group releasing a short statement saying, "Roland has returned."

Meanwhile, Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who is wanted in the United States, arrived in Tehran to an emotional meeting with his family.

The two were both released the day before in what Mizan Online, the news site of the Iranian judiciary, called "an act of mutual cooperation."

The detentions had complicated ties between the two countries during a period when French President Emmanuel Macron sought to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran, and while Iran has sought France's help to mitigate the economic damage caused by U.S. financial sanctions.

A relative told AFP that Marchal was taken to a military hospital near Paris for medical tests and that the "analyses were good."

Macron had announced that Tehran released Marchal after France freed Rohollahnejad instead of sending him to the United States, where he is suspected of being involved in an attempt to export sensitive industrial equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Macron's office said he "is happy to announce the release of Roland Marchal, imprisoned in Iran since June 2019" but that he "urges the Iranian authorities to immediately free" fellow researcher Fariba Adelkhah.

Marchal, 64, a senior researcher at Sciences Po university, was detained in June 2019 along fellow researcher Adelkhah.

The 60-year-old Adelkhah is a citizen of both France and Iran, but Tehran does not recognize dual nationality.

Said Dehqan, lawyer for both French detainees, told AFP that Adelkhah was "very happy" that her companion had been freed.

Adelkhah faces charges of "propaganda against the system" and "colluding to commit acts against national security," according her lawyer, who said that Marchal was accused of similar charges.

The lawyer said in October 2019 that Iranian prosecutors had given no evidence to support the charges against them.

The researchers' supporters had expressed concerns over the health of the detainees after Iran became one of the hardest-hit countries amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

As of March 22, at least 1,685 people have died in Iran from the COVID-19 virus, and nearly 22,000 have been confirmed infected.

In Tehran, state television showed images of a freed Rohollahnejad hugging members of his family during a reunion in the Iranian capital.

"Thanks be to God, those days have ended," Rohollahnejad said of his confinement.

He claimed he had been badly treated while being detained in France.

The French Court of Cassation on March 11 said it had approved "the request to extradite Rohollahnejad to the U.S., but the French government freed him, changing this decision."

Rohollahnejad was detained under a U.S. extradition warrant at the airport in the southern French city of Nice on February 2, 2019.

Iran is still holding U.S. citizens Siamak Namazi his father, Baquer, and environmental expert Morad Tahbaz. Siamak Namazi was convicted on charges including espionage and collaboration with the U.S. government.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department harshly criticized France for releasing Rohollahnejad, accusing Paris of failing to uphold its obligations under a joint extradition treaty

"The United States deeply regrets France's unilateral decision to release Iranian national Jalal Rohollahnejad from its custody," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. "There are multiple outstanding U.S. charges against him related to the illegal export of equipment with military applications in violation of U.S. sanctions."

"The United States and France have a shared interest in bringing those accused of serious crimes to justice, particularly in cases with national security implications," she said in a statement.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on Azerbaijan to free at least five journalists and bloggers who it says have been imprisoned on politically motivated charges.

The New York-based human rights watchdog made the call on March 18, the day after Azerbaijani authorities released investigative reporter Afqan Muxtarli from prison.

Calling the move "a rare bit of good news" from Azerbaijan, HRW said in a statement that at least five other journalists and bloggers -- Polad Aslanov, Fuad Ahmadli, Ziya Asadli, Araz Guliyev, and Elcin Ismayilli -- continue to languish in the Caucasus state's jails after publicly criticizing the authorities.

It urged Azerbaijani authorities to release them and "allow them to report freely and without undue interference."

The group noted that other journalists "continue to face arbitrary and disproportionate travel bans," including investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was jailed from December 2014 to May 2016.

On March 17, a Baku court ordered Muxtarli's early release from prison and allowed him to fly to Germany, where he reunited with his wife and daughter.

In May 2017, Muxtarli was abducted in Georgia, where he was living in exile, fearing political persecution in Azerbaijan.

He resurfaced in custody in Azerbaijan, where he faced what human rights groups called politically motivated charges of illegal border crossing, smuggling, and violently resisting arrest.

Muxtarli was sentenced in January 2018 to six years in prison in a case that was condemned by the international community.

The journalist developed serious health complications in prison and did not receive adequate medical care, according to HRW.

Georgian authorities have opened an investigation into the abduction and suspended a number of counterintelligence and border police officials.

However, HRW said the probe remained inconclusive.