Netherlands to recall ambassador from Iran

The Netherlands is recalling its ambassador to Iran for consultations over the execution of a Dutch-Iranian woman, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

A ministry spokesman said the ambassador would make a formal protest to the Iranian Foreign Ministry before he returned to The Hague on Thursday.

Iran's ambassador to the Netherlands would be summoned shortly to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, he said.

The Netherlands froze diplomatic contacts with Iran after Zahra Bahrami, a 45-year-old woman with dual Dutch-Iranian citizenship, was hanged last month for drug smuggling, a charge that her family says was fabricated after she was arrested for participating in anti-government protests in 2009.

According to postings on Iranian blogs and news websites, Bahrami died when she was tortured during interrogation by the Iranian authorities.


/Reuters/