British Council staffer in Iran returns to UK

London: The British Council on Wednesday said one of its staff members had returned to the UK after being cleared on appeal of a 10-year jail sentence for "cultural infiltration" in Iran.

"British Council employee and Iranian citizen Aras Amiri has been acquitted by the Supreme Court in Iran of all charges previously made against her, following a successful appeal lodged by her lawyer," the cultural organisation said in a statement.

"She has been freed from detention and has returned to the United Kingdom," it added, calling her ordeal "a long and difficult period". The British Council, which promotes culture and language in more than 100 countries across the world, has not had staff or offices in Iran since 2009.

The Iranian government in 2019 announced a ban on all collaboration with the organisation. Amiri, who lives in the UK, was detained in 2018 while on a trip to visit relatives in Iran. In May 2019, she was jailed for 10 years.

The prime minister at the time, Theresa May, called the sentence "utterly shocking". The UK government has condemned the detention of several Iranians with dual UK nationality or based in the UK as hostage-taking aimed at pressuring the West.