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Missing IAF navigator Ron Arad, who was captured after his plane went down over Lebanon in 1986. del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 20:28 10/12/2007 Germany frees Iranian whose release was tied to info on Ron Arad By The Associated Press Tags: Ron Arad, Israel, Germany  Two men convicted of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian opposition figures in a Berlin restaurant have been released early from prison, officials said Monday, including an Iranian man whose release had been previously tied to information on missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad. The release of Kazem Darabi, an Iranian, and Abbas Rhayel, a Lebanese, went ahead despite Israel's protests. Darabi was part of a deal brokered between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004. In the deal, 400 Palestinians were released, as well as other prisoners, including Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Obeid, in exchange for the bodies of three Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed at Har Dov in 2000 and Elhanan Tannenbaum. Advertisement The deal included another stage, in which Germany offered to release Darabi if Hezbollah offered information on Arad. Hezbollah failed to offer any information and the deal fell through. In an attempt to prevent Darabi's release, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Chancellor Angela Merkel, but she told him the matter was being handled by the book, and he would be released after serving two thirds of his sentence. In October, Arad's family traveled to Germany to urge Federal Prosecutor Monika Harms to make the release contingent upon Tehran's releasing information about Arad. Arad abandoned his Phantom jet over Lebanon in 1986 and his fate remains unknown. His family believes he is still alive in Iran. Rhayel was freed from prison and deported from the country on Friday, according to Frank Wallenta, a spokesman for federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe. Wallenta was unable to comment on Darabi, but security officials in Berlin who, declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, said Darabi had been released and was on his way to Frankfurt International Airport, where he was to be put on a plane to Tehran later in the day. Wolfgang Wieland, a private lawyer who took part in the prosecution of the case and is a security expert for the opposition Greens party also confirmed Darabi's release. He decried it as undermining Germany's attempt to send a strong signal to terrorists. The early release of Darabi and the men behind him will be viewed in Iran as a weakness of the West and not as a generous move on the part of the German penal system, Wieland said. The two prisoners were convicted of the Sept. 17, 1992, killing of Iranian Kurdish dissident leader Sadiq Sarafkindi and three of his associates in Berlin, and were sentenced to life in prison in 1997. They were freed under a law that allows early release for foreigners who have served at least 15 years of their sentence, including the time served in pretrial detention. Hamid Nowzari, a member of the Berlin-based Association of Iranian Refugees, which joined the prosecution during the trial as allowed under German law, also condemned the release. "We think that Darabi's release is incompatible with Germany's fight against terrorism," Nowzari said. The Mykonos trial - so called for the Berlin restaurant where the killings took place - raised an uproar when a German court ruled that Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and then-President Hashemi Rafsanjani had ordered the murders. Both countries withdrew their ambassadors at the time. Related articles: Germany to set free Iranian assassin despite Israel's plea Germany denies assassins' early release was part of deal with Iran Information from Hezbollah did not reveal Ron Arad's fate Bookmark to del.icio.us Talking too much Censor: IDF officers provided the press with classified information during the war. Intelligent estimate? Rosner's Domain analyzes the U.S. intelligence estimate on Iran's nuclear program.   1.   what`s wrong with adhering to the laws? 20:48  |  Leona 10/12/07   2.   Leona 21:52  |  Robert 10/12/07   3.   Did such release secured info about Ron Arad ? 21:56  |  Joseph E . 10/12/07   4.   what do u expect from Germany when... 22:03  |  eddie 10/12/07   5.   Are terrorists just criminals? 23:24  |  Michael 10/12/07   6.   15 years for assassinating 4 people: shameful 23:56  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 10/12/07   7.   Send the mossad over there and bring thim to Israel 00:03  |  Joey 11/12/07   8.   Leona,revolutionaries involved in Hans Marti Schlayer 00:35  |  Absolute Sweden 11/12/07   9.   #2 02:07  |  Arab 11/12/07   10.   IRANIAN terrorists and Hesballa one happy family 03:36  |  PETER SM 11/12/07   11.   #2 Arab 04:52  |  Robert 11/12/07

Today Online Burston: Hamas - If we can kill them, we can talk to them Responses: 125 Russia said trying to lure Russian olim back home Responses: 184 Akiva Eldar: Building in E. J'lem undermines spirit of Annapolis Responses: 158 Religious party leader: Same-sex families undermine Judaism Responses: 57 Military censor: IDF revealed classified data during war Responses: 38 Rosner's Domain New Guest: "we neither require nor request Israel's permission to fight for Jerusalem" The CIA's brain drain (WTR) Poll: Democratic favorite for 2008? Jervis & Cohen discuss the flaws of the Iran NIE More Headlines 03:27 Moscow pushing for follow-up Mideast peace summit in April 03:12 Sarkozy hosts Netanyahu, backs new UN sanctions against Iran 03:18 U.K. pledges $500M in aid to PA if peace process successful 03:21 IAF missile kills militant, wounds at least two in northern Gaza 02:49 Study finds Maine has highest intermarriage rate in U.S. 05:02 Barak: I couldn't work with adviser who abused my trust 05:38 Shin Bet to perform security checks on potential judges 04:26 Hamas tightens control on state institutions in Gaza 20:28 Germany frees Iranian whose release was tied to info on Ron Arad Previous Editions Select Day 10 dec 09 dec 07 dec 06 dec 05 dec 04 dec 03 dec 02 dec 30 nov 29 nov 28 nov 27 nov

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