Videos deepen mystery over Iran nuclear scientist Amiri

Page last updated at 11:33 GMT, Tuesday, 8 June 2010 12:33 UK






The Iranian TV clip was broadcast first and found its way onto YouTube, then the other clip appeared

The Iranian government says it has evidence that one of its nuclear scientists was abducted and is being held in the US against his will.
Shahram Amiri disappeared a year ago while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Iranian television broadcast a video purporting to show the scientist saying he was kidnapped and is now living in Arizona.
Hours later, another video posted on YouTube appeared to show Mr Amiri saying he was happy in the US.
Mr Amiri worked as a researcher at a university in Tehran, Iranian media reported.
But other reports said he worked for the country's Atomic Energy Organisation and had in-depth knowledge of the country's nuclear programme.



'Drugged'

In the video shown on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network, the man says he was forced to say he defected with a laptop full of evidence about Iran's nuclear secrets and that he was being used to put pressure on Iran.
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Since I was abducted and brought to the US I was heavily tortured and pressured by US intelligence
Shahram Amiri Iranian broadcast
The video showed a man wearing headphones and talking to his webcam.
He says he was in the Saudi city of Medina as part of a Muslim pilgrimage when Saudi intelligence officers drugged and kidnapped him.
"When I became conscious, I found myself in a plane on the way to the US," he was quoted as saying by Associated Press news agency.
"Since I was abducted and brought to the US I was heavily tortured and pressured by US intelligence."
The man said the recording was made on 5 April in the city of Tucson, in Arizona.
Reports said the Iranian security services obtained the film "by special methods" but did not elaborate.



'Free and safe'

In the video posted hours later from a YouTube account in the name of Shahramamiri2010, however, the man says he lives safely in the city and wants to continue his education in the US.
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I am Iranian and I have not taken any steps against my homeland
Shahram Amiri YouTube broadcast
"I am free here and I assure everyone I am safe," he said in Farsi. The clip was posted on 7 June.
"My purpose in today's conversation is to put an end to all the rumours that have been levelled at me over the past year. I am Iranian and I have not taken any steps against my homeland."
The BBC's Jon Leyne says neither video is entirely convincing.
The Iranian government version is poor quality with the possibility that it's been manipulated.
In the YouTube video the man claiming to be Shahram Amiri looks frequently beyond the camera, apparently reading a not very well written script, our correspondent says.
Neither the US nor the Saudi Arabian governments have made any comment on the allegations that he was abducted and taken to the US.
In March US news channel ABC ran a report that said Mr Amiri had defected and was helping the US compile intelligence on Iran's nuclear weapons programme.
The US and its allies believe Iran is trying to acquire a nuclear weapon, but Tehran denies the charge.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...t/10264193.stm