Italy puts Iranian under house arrest

Italy has released an Iranian national held in custody on suspicion of arms trafficking from jail, putting him under house arrest, says an Iranian diplomat.

“Iranian citizen Ali Damirchilou was released and placed under house arrest in Milan Thursday night,” Iranian Ambassador to Italy Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Fars News Agency on Friday.

Damirchilou left jail after a senior correspondent for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in Rome, Hamid Masouminejad, was released earlier on the same day.

The two Iranians were arrested on March 3, 2010 on charges of illegal arms trafficking.

The move sparked a diplomatic row between Rome and Tehran as Iran describing the move as ‘politically-motivated’ act.

Hosseini said that Iran’s Foreign Ministry will continue making efforts to secure Damirchilou’s “not guilty” verdict and his complete freedom.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has recently urged his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini to swiftly review the cases of the two Iranian nationals.