A group of Slovak paragliders in Iran may have a dramatic end to their holiday. Eight Slovaks were detained over espionage suspicions, facing the death penalty. Iranian authorities confirmed on Sunday the arrests of 8 Slovaks who were taken into custody on espionage-related charges while on a paragliding trip to Iran. Slovaks have been accused of using paragliders to spy on Iranian defense installations, overall according to the Iranian Foreign ministry they have been behaving in a improper manner and used unconventional devices.
"Our diplomats in Tehran are in touch with the arrested citizens and the Iranian authorities,” Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Gandel told the news agencies on Friday. The crisis committee meets at the Slovak Foreign Ministry twice a day to deal with the situation and the relatives of the detained Slovaks. This is not the first espionage case in Iran involving a Slovak national. In February, a Slovak – Matej Valúch was reportedly held for 40 days in solitary confinement on accusations of being a CIA spy before being released.
