Kuwait Journalists Association demands Iran releases Yahya,Majid

The Kuwaiti Journalists Association issued a statement on Monday demanding the immediate release of Kuwaiti media figures Adel Al-Yahya and Raed Al-Majid who were arrested during their stay in Iranian Abadan region.The two Kuwaitis were arrested by the Iranian authorities while in Abadan shooting a special program for a private satellite channel. They are facing charges of spying on Iran, a charge strongly condemned and challenged by the association.Association Secretary General Faisal Al-Qinaei told reporters the Iranian accusation was a very strange one, and he demanded an apology for the arbitrary action against the two Kuwaiti nationals in addition to their immediate release. Al-Yahya and Al-Majid had both entered Iranian territory with valid permits obtained from the embassy in Kuwait, which has knowledge of the visit and its objective, he said.Al-Qinaei pointed out the special program the two were working on deals with the conditions and circumstances of children of Kuwaiti men from Iranian mothers."The association expresses extreme discontent with the Iranian treatment of the two Kuwaiti colleagues and, as representative of the press and media field in Kuwait, expresses its solidarity with them."We demand their immediate release, so as to prevent this case from taking on negative proportions that could compromise Kuwaiti-Iranian relations on all levels," the statement said.