Iran releases Austrian citizen from prison before end of sentence

DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) -Iran has granted an early release from prison to Austrian citizen Christian Weber, who was convicted of offences that originally included spying, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday.

"I am very pleased that ... the Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Tehran have succeeded in securing the early release of Christian Weber from Iranian custody," Nehammer said on social media platform X.

"The Austrian embassy's team in Tehran is now working hard to ensure that he can leave the country as quickly as possible and can be reunited with his family in Austria," he added.

Austria and Iran have both said little publicly about the case, which Vienna disclosed in late 2022.

At the time, Iran was undergoing some of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in its modern history following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly violating dress codes. Austria said then that the charges against its citizen were not related to the Amini case.

In February, Austria's foreign minister said a conviction against Weber for spying had been overturned on appeal and that his sentence for unspecified other crimes had been halved.

The Austrian foreign ministry said on Tuesday that "administrative steps" still need to be completed with the Iranian authorities.

The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said Weber had been detained for crimes committed in Iran's West Azerbaijan Province and freed in consideration of Islamic mercy. He was handed over to Austria's ambassador to arrange his exit, the agency said.

Mizan did not specify the crime for which Weber was jailed. Calls to the Austrian embassy before regular office hours went unanswered. Iran's judiciary was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly and Francois MurphyEditing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Tom Hogue, Peter Graff)