PM Ardern: New Zealand couple held in Iran allowed to leave
October 26, 2022
The couple disappeared for almost four months after entering Iran. The pair have now safely left the country, New Zealand officials said.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern said the couple had endured 'difficult circumstances'Image: Mark Mitchell/Getty Images
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Two social media travel influencers from New Zealand who disappeared from public view after entering Iran almost four months ago have now safely left the country, officials in Wellington said on Wednesday.
The couple — Topher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray — were traveling the world and posting shots of exotic locations on their Instagram account under the name Expedition Earth.
They entered Iran from Turkey in early July. Soon after, their social media feeds fell silent, sparking concern about their safety.
PM Jacinda Adern 'delighted they are safe'
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday revealed the government had been "working hard" for several months to "ensure the safe" exit of the couple, who had endured "difficult circumstances."
"I am aware of just how incredibly difficult it has been for them and their family over these past few months. I am delighted they are safe."
Both Ardern and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not release any details on the detained couple or where they had been held.
Iran protests: Rallies and graffiti worldwide in support of Iranian women
Graffiti artists all over the globe are creating art in support of the women-led anti-government demonstrations raging in Iran for the past few weeks. Solidarity rallies are also being held in various cities worldwide.
Image: Francois Mori/AP/picture alliance
At the Iranian Embassy in Mexico City
A woman spray-paints messages against "macho country" Iran on a wall of the Iranian Embassy in Mexico City in solidarity with Iranian women and in memory of Jina Mahsa Amini — the 22-year-old woman who died in custody after she was detained by Iranian authorities for allegedly violating strict Islamic dress codes for women.
Image: Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto/picture alliance
At a demonstration in Frankfurt
Protests calling for the fall of the Islamic regime have swept the Middle Eastern nation following the death of the 22-year-old in mid September. Authorities have denied responsibility for Amini's death but few believe them. Many women have experienced the brutality of the so-called morality police. This image shows protesters taking to the streets in Frankfurt in support of Iranian women.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Simpsons in solidarity in Milan
In Iran and abroad, many women have been cutting off locks of their hair in a gesture of support for the protest movement. On a wall in the Italian city of Milan, directly opposite the Iranian consulate, Marge Simpson — a character in the animated sitcom "The Simpsons" — is shown doing the same. The picture was taken by street artist AleXsandro Palombo.
Image: Andrea Fasani/ANSA/EPA-EFE
Jina Mahsa Amini to become honorary citizen of Paris
In Paris, it's not just murals that commemorate Jina Mahsa Amini and the protest movement. The French capital is also planning to posthumously make Amini an honorary citizen, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has said. A location in the city would also be named after Amini "so that no one forgets her," she noted. "Paris will always be on the side of those who fight for their rights and their freedom."
Image: Francois Mori/AP/picture alliance
'Women, Life, Freedom' in Frankfurt
Artists from "Kollektiv ohne Namen" (Collective Without Names) have painted a picture of the Kurdish activist on a vacant building in Frankfurt. Next to it are the Kurdish words "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" — women, life, freedom. This is the omnipresent slogan of the demonstrators against the Islamic regime in Tehran, borrowed from the Kurdish feminist movement in Syria.
Image: Boris Roessler/dpa/picture alliance
Solidarity in Poland
The uprising of girls and women against their oppressors in Iran deserves solidarity, say many women worldwide. And they are taking to the streets around the world — as seen here in Krakow, Poland. In many places across the globe, women are disadvantaged or even discriminated against because of their gender. The idea of a feminist revolution in Iran has attracted their support.
Image: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Protest performance by art students in Tehran
Art students from Azad University in Tehran protested in front of the art faculty building on Monday, October 9. The red paint on their hands symbolizes the bloody repression of the protests by the security forces.
Image: UGC/AFP
Desired domino effect
The protests following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini are not directed solely against the strict dress codes for girls and women. Throughout the country, demonstrators are questioning the legitimacy of the Islamic regime and chanting slogans like "Get rid of the mullahs" or "Death to the dictator," targeting the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Image: NNSRoj
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New Zealand issues travel warnings
The New Zealand government on Wednesday updated its travel warnings for Iran and urged citizens currently there to leave.
It also called on Iranian authorities to act with restraint when dealing with the ongoing mass anti-regime protests that were sparked by the death of a young woman in the custody of the so-called morality police.
Tehran has repeatedly accused outside forces of inciting the protests.
Last month, it announced that nine foreign nationals — including from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands — had been arrested.