An Argentinian court ordered the release of the remaining crew members of the Venezuelan plane seized over four months ago, arguing that there was not enough evidence to put the detainees on trial.

Argentinian federal judge Federico Villena granted permission for the five remaining crew members – three Iranians and two Venezuelans – to leave Argentina, Agencia EFE reported on Saturday.

The decision was based on the fact that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the crew for financing terrorist activities, the judge said.

The remaining members of the crew were Gholam-Reza Qassemi, Abdul-Baset Mohammadi, Saeed Valizadeh from Iran, and Víctor Manuel Pérez Gómez and Mario Araga Ordanta from Venezuela.

The recent decision will not prevent international prosecution in the future if new evidence is found, Villena noted.

The Venezuelan plane, Emtrasur, belonged to the Iranian airline Mahan until a year ago. The plane enter Argentina from Mexico in early June with a crew of 19. Uruguay refused to grant the plane permission to enter its sky and the plane had to return to Argentina, where its crew was detained.

 

 

By IRNA