BERLIN, March 15 (UPI) -- After more than 15 months in an Iranian prison, a German tourist has returned home visibly branded.
Fifty-three-year-old Donald Klein, a father and a fishing enthusiast, arrived Wednesday in Germany after he was released by Iranian officials earlier this week.
"I surely lost 45 pounds," Klein, who looked thin and weak, told a German TV show Wednesday evening.
In late 2005, Klein chartered a fishing trip with French skipper Stephane Lherbier based in Dubai. The skipper led Klein near the island of Abu Mousa and accidentally crossed into Iranian waters, where both men were arrested by the Iranian military.
Klein and Lherbier, who filmed Klein's catch of two barracudas with a handheld video camera, were accused of deliberately crossing the border and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Lherbier was released roughly two weeks ago after serving most of his sentence.
Germany has on repeated occasions tried to free Klein, with German President Horst Koehler intervening unsuccessfully. Iranian diplomats have recently hinted that a release of an Iranian agent in German custody would help Klein's case.
However, it is unclear whether Berlin has accepted that deal; observers say such a move is highly unlikely.
According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former German foreign minister, had also lobbied for the man's release during a trip to Tehran earlier this month.
