Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Ambassador of
Kyrgyzstan after Bishkek denied the assertion that Iranian authorities
had arrested wanted militant Abdolmalek Rigi from a Kyrgyz airliner
which was forced to land in Bandar Abbas.
The
Iranians claim that Mr. Rigi, head of the armed group Jundallah was on
board a flight which had taken off from Dubai and was on its way to
Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek.
Foreign Ministry
spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran possessed “solid documents” to
establish that Mr. Rigi was arrested from the Kyrgyz airliner. State-run
broadcaster Press TV reported that Iranian authorities had subsequently
released video footage which documented in detail the capture. The
video also showed passengers on the Kyrgyz flight waiting at the
airport’s lounge and receiving gifts before re-boarding the grounded
plane. On Thursday, Kyrgyzstan had denied the detention of any foreign
national who was on board its airline.
Meanwhile,
Basirat, the website run by the political department of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) quoted a security official as saying the
Kyrgyz pilot initially declined to land on Iranian soil. “When the
Kyrgyz pilot refused to land, two Iranian fighter jets forced the plane
to land at an airport in Bandar Abbas. In order to preven… >>>
