Families call for release of Iranian abductees in Syria

The families of several Iranian engineers abducted in Syria five months ago are still calling for their release. Two of the technicians were released about ten days ago and returned home, but five more are still being held by armed Syrian militants and their whereabouts are unknown. Members of their families say the so-called opposition wants to exchange the Iranian engineers for opposition members being held by the Syrian government. “We ask the United Nations. We ask the countries who are defending human rights and freedom of speech to help resolve the issue,” one of the family members said this week. On December 21, 2011, five Iranian electrical engineers traveling to a power plant in the Syrian city of Homs were kidnapped by gunmen. Two more Iranian citizens, who were trying to clarify the situation of the five abducted engineers, were also kidnapped. Several other Iranians have also been taken hostage in Syria. The Iranian government has called on the Syrian authorities to make efforts to obtain the release and ensure the safe return of its nationals.