Parents: Reporter son is no spy

TEHRAN, June 25 (UPI) -- The parents of Jason Fowden, a Western journalist detained in Iran, said he has "always maintained his integrity" and would not have been a spy.

Fowden, who holds dual Greek and British citizenship, was arrested last week at the Tehran airport as he tried to leave Iran. Fowden has covered Iran since 2004, supplies photographs and news stories to a number of papers and had been covering the election for The Washington Times.

Public demonstrations in protest of the outcome of the election have been met with violent crackdowns by officials. The number of deaths, injuries and arrests resulting from the clashes could not be determined because of government restrictions on international and domestic journalists.

Polymnia Athanasiadi and Georgios Fowden, Fowden's parents, released a statement Wednesday saying their son had "always maintained his integrity as an independent journalist," The Times of London reported.

"His work serves no purpose other than the fair and humane coverage of life in the many countries where he has worked," they said.

Officials said Fowden was detained because of "underground activity."

Advocacy groups estimate as many as 33 reporters have been detained since Iran's presidential election.