TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Monday it will allow relatives to visit two German journalists detained while covering the case of an Iranian woman whose sentence to death by stoning for adultery has caused an international outcry.
It was not immediately clear when the visit would be allowed. Earlier Monday, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to complain that the two were not able to meet with relatives over Christmas, despite earlier promises.
Ashtiani's sentence, which Iran has put on hold, has brought harsh condemnation from the U.S., the European Union and rights groups who are pressuring Tehran to stay the execution. It has further strained Iran's relations with world powers, already tense over the country's disputed nuclear program.
The two Germans -- a reporter and a photographer for the mass-circulation tabloid Bild am Sonntag -- entered the country on tourist visas and were arrested in early October in the northwestern city of Tabriz while interviewing the son and lawyer of the woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ashtiani lived in Tabriz and is currently in prison there.
Iranian and German authorities have not identified the two German prisoners. Ashtiani's son and lawyer were arrested around the same time as the two journalists.
Iranian officials approved the visit by the families in Tabriz, 400 miles (630 kilometres) from the capital Tehran, according to a statement on the website of state TV.
In Berlin, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said two relatives are now on their way to Tabriz after German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle spoke several times with his Iranian counterpart on Monday. The Iranian Embassy in Berlin said the visit was held up only by the fact that the families were not in Tabriz, according to the official Iranian IRNA news agency.
"Therefore there was a meeting between the relatives and the Iranian Foreign Minister, during which the latter promised a swift encounter with the detainees in Tabriz," said the spokesman, who declined to be named in keeping with government policy.
Bild reported Sunday that the reporter's sister and the photographer's mother would be able to meet with the journalists at an undisclosed location in Tehran, the Iranian capital. The paper has also not identified the two prisoners.
The newspaper said that meeting was first planned for Saturday and then rescheduled for Sunday, but both were cancelled.
Iranian officials claim the two Germans have admitted to violating Iranian laws, which forbid those entering the country on tourist visas to work as journalists. Iran's judiciary rejected claims by Iranian officials who accused the two Germans of espionage, and no spy charges have been filed against them.
The two were shown on Iranian state television in mid-November and earlier this month, Iran signalled it might release them for the New Year's holiday.
Ashtiani's death by stoning sentence has been put on hold and is now being reviewed by Iran's Supreme Court.
