Incredible twist four months after NZ couple vanish on trip
A New Zealand couple missing in Iran for four months have finally been allowed to leave the country, officials revealed on Wednesday.
New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade broke the news after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a live broadcast on Facebook the government had been working hard to ensure the pair’s “safe exit”.
While local media previously declined to name the couple out of fear it could harm them, the New Zealand Herald has reported the two are social media influencers Topher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray, who post to their 300,000 followers under the name Expedition Earth.
Mr Richwite, 34, and Ms Thackwray, 27, have spent the last few years travelling the world in a Jeep they’ve affectionately named Gunther.
For their third and final leg of the expedition, the couple — who both have extensive travelling experience — hoped to tick off the last 33 countries on their list, but were detained after entering Iran on July 7, the publication reports.
While both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ms Ardern declined to release any details on the detained couple or where they had been held, the latter did admit the ordeal had been “particularly difficult” for the newlyweds.
“Other details, I do think we should allow the family and the couple to speak themselves,” she said, admitting she felt “great relief” after they were released.
Chilling footage of couple at Iran's border
Concern began to grow for Mr Richwhite and Ms Thackwray shortly after they entered Iran and stopped uploading photos of their trip on Instagram.
The couple's last post was 16 weeks ago from the Tas Yol passage in Turkey.
Fifteen weeks ago, they filmed themselves crossing the border from Turkey into Iran, where a guide was expected to accompany them, the NZ Herald reports.
Footage shows Ms Thackwray covering her head with a scarf as they approach Iranian customs.
“They are opening the gate to the border. And we are driving. We are crossing the border,” she says.
Footage then shows the pair being placed in a separate car for “an unexpected meeting request with the chief of immigration”.
After the 45-minute meeting with the Chief of Customs at a nearby town, Mr Richwhite detailed the “very strange experience”.
“It was very formal,” he said in an Instagram story.
“We were told in advance that we weren't allowed to smile or cross our legs or fidget too much, which was pretty hard given how nervous we are.
“And the meeting was about who we were and why we’re coming through Iran with a sanctioned vehicle.
“Because of the American sanctions against Iran, it’s also happening vice-versa, which is a very complicated situation. We’re just waiting to hear the answer really.”
Mr Richwite said the pair were feeling “nervous” and being told to turn around would be a “disaster”.
Additional footage shows the couple smiling after being given the “green light” following hours of waiting. In the clip, Ms Thackwray asks her husband for a kiss, to which he replies that “they’re not allowed to” before giving her a peck on the cheek.
Another video shows the pair dropping off paperwork at a police station the following day, with Ms Thackwray revealing she had been turned away because of her “inappropriate” shirt, the bottom of which she was told needs to be at her knees, not her hips.
The last video uploaded to their account shows the Iranian flag, with the caption: “Ready for Iran”.
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New Zealand's urgent travel warning
Following their release, the New Zealand government on Wednesday updated its travel warnings for Iran as protests continue to rage across the country.
The Islamic Republic has been gripped by six weeks of demonstrations that erupted after Mahsa Amini died in police custody on September 16.
The 22-year-old woman had been accused of allegedly not adhering to the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
Demonstrations have been met by a crackdown by security forces that have killed more than 200 people, including children, according to rights groups.
New Zealand authorities have also urged any citizens currently there to leave.
A statement released alongside the update said New Zealand continues to call for restraint by authorities in responding to the demonstrations, and for greater protection of women's rights and freedom of expression.
With Reuters
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