Vloggers Released In An Apparent Prisoner Swap

Two Australians who had been imprisoned in Iran since July have been freed in what appears to be a prisoner swap.

Mark Firkin and Jolie King, both from Perth, Australia, had been traveling from their home country to the U.K., and posting to a video blog along the way. One of the tools they used for their vlog was a drone, which they were accused of flying illegally near a military base as they traveled across Iran.

The U.K. newspaper The Guardian reports that while the Australian government would not acknowledge there was an exchange of prisoners with Iran, the release of Firkin and King cme at nearly the same time as the release of an Iranian doctoral student who had been held in a Brisbane jail and for whom the U.S. had sought extradition on suspicion of sanctions violations.

The negotiations for the release of Firkin and King were "very sensitive", according to Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne. “The ordeal they have been through is now over, they are being reunited with their loved ones,” she said.

Both were said to be healthy and in good spirits, but requested privacy following their release.

FMI: Source report