BERLIN – An Iranian dissident who went missing for almost two weeks in Germany told The Associated Press on Thursday he was kidnapped by four Arabic-speaking man who threatened to kill him for a film he made that is critical of the Iranian regime.
In his first interview since his ordeal, Daryush Shokof said he thought the kidnapping was orchestrated by the regime in Tehran even though his captors didn’t speak in Farsi, which is spoken in Iran.
“I am convinced that there is a connection between my kidnapping and the Iranian regime,” Shokof said in a phone interview from Cologne, where he under police protection. “This was the act of this horrendous regime.”
The Iranian Embassy in Berlin did not respond to requests for comment.
Cologne prosecutor Guenter Oehme, who is in charge of the investigation into Shokof’s disappearance, said he could not provide any details because the case is ongoing.
“I can’t say anything because it would threaten our investigations,” Oehme said.
