TORONTO -- A Canadian engineer detained for 69 days in Iran on espionage charges said he was treated well by his jailers and whiled away the hours scratching out physics and mathematics problems.
'I am not a spy,' said Philip Engs, 29, an employee of Paris-based Schlumberger Ltd., who arrived at Pearson International Airport Tuesday on a flight from Frankfurt, West Germany. 'It's simply a misunderstanding.'
Engs, who had been in Tehran for about a year, was freed Sunday after spending 69 days in prison for allegedly photographing restricted military installations in Iran.
Engs was first taken into custody by the Iranians in October, questioned about certain photographs, then released. He was arrested again on Dec. 2 and sent to Evin Prison in Tehran after returning from vacation in Canada.
Iranian officials in Canada said they released Engs as a gesture of good will to promote good relations between Canada and Iran. Engs was released in Tehran to Danish Ambassador Ib Andreasen, who acted for Canada because the Canadian Embassy was closed in 1979.
The engineer, who was greeted by his parents and brothers, said his one-man cell in the prison interrogation center was comfortable. 'I had sunlight,' he said. 'I could eat all I wanted. The meals were boring but adequate.'
He said he spent much of his time in jail reading and solving physics and mathematics problems with a pen and paper provided by his jailers.
Engs, of St. Catharines, Ontario, said he planned to take a vacation, possibly in Brazil, and had no plans to return to Iran. His mother, Sylvia, said he looked thinner but added, 'He's home now and that's the main thing.'
Engs said he did not know why the photographs in question led to his arrest. 'I cannot say exactly, but they're pictures from Brazil, New York, Iran and Abu Dhabi, (United Arab Emirates),' he said.
He would not elaborate except to say he had no pictures of any military installations.
Engs said he believed he convinced his sole interrogator that he was not a spy in early January but for unknown reasons it took another month to win freedom.
