Mrs. Dwyer, 'guilty,' being freed
| Tehran, Iran
American free-lance journalist Cynthia Dwyer, imprisoned in Iran since last May, has been found guilty of espionage, sentenced to nine months in prison, and was expected to be deported today (Feb. 9), a prison spokesman said. He added that her sentence, for "espionage and activities against the islamic Republic of Iran," included the time she had already spent in prison. Since she was arrested last May 5, this would indicate the sentence had already been fully served. The State Department confirmed that Mrs. Dwyer would be deported from Iran after being found guilty of espionage.
Meanwhile, the four Britons detained in Iran since August will be released shortly, President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr said. In an interview he said: "I was shown a document . . . signed by the revolutionary prosecutor which shows they are not spies. So if they are not spies, I don't know why they should be in prison. Certainly they will free them." Asked if they would be released soon, he replied: "I have been told that."
Also, a Tehran security official blamed agents of Zionism, communism, and imperialism for Friday's violent demonstration in the capital, during which one person was killed and about 40 injured. He did not say how many arrests had been made, but Tehran newspapers put the number at about 200. Witnesses said all the participants appeared to have been members of the pro-Moscow Fedayeen-e Khalq or the ultraleftist Peykar group, which advocates the violent overthrow of the pres ent government.