An Azerbaijani student at the University of Yena, Germany, who was reported missing in Iran, has been charged with espionage against 27-year-old Farid Sapphira.

In a statement to the EPA, his mother, Dilara Saskatchewan, reported on this.

He reported that Farid Sapphira had been arrested in Iran: "Today, I was informed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Iranian side had officially responded to them. The response noted that Farid Sapphira had been arrested on espionage charges in Iran. There have even been several telephone conversations with Farid by our consulate. We are now demanding a meeting with Farid. Our consulate has also appealed to Iran's administrative institutions."

Dilara Saskatchewan noted that the accusation against her son was unfounded: "The accusation is false, my son has not spied. We do not accept the accusations."

For example, on February 20, Ferid Sapphira traveled to Tehran to see his former doctor's girlfriend at the same university. F. Saphira was due to return to Germany on March 5, but she did not return. Farid's phone has been off since March 4, and contact with him has been completely lost.