The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Nepali youth Amrit Jha, who had been held captive by Iran, was released on Wednesday.
Confirming Jha’s release, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal told Setopati, “The Nepali Consulate General in Iran and the Nepali Embassy in Qatar have informed us that Amrit Jha has been released. He has already established contact with his family.”
It was reported on March 21 that the 32-year-old Jha, a resident of Triyuga Municipality in Udayapur, was taken into custody from the Strait of Hormuz region in southern Iran. He was working there as a ship pilot. Jha was taken into custody along with the crew when Iran seized the ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Minister Khanal said that Jha was released on an island called Qeshm, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have received information that he also has a letter with him. However, we do not yet know the contents of the letter,” Minister Khanal told Setopati. “The Nepal government is preparing to bring him back to Nepal safely as soon as possible.”
On the day of the incident, Iran took seven crew members into custody, including Jha. The other six detainees are reported to be Indian nationals.
While news of the Nepali youth’s capture surfaced during a period of intensified Iranian attacks on oil tankers in those waters, Jha had actually been detained nearly two months before the US-Iran war began.
According to his family, Jha received his ship navigation training in Thailand. Since then, he has been working as a ship pilot with companies based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for nearly 10 years. Most recently, he had gone to Dubai for employment two years ago.
Before his detention by Iran, Jha had been planning to return home soon.
According to Nepali diplomatic officials, his ship had headed toward the Strait of Hormuz to collect oil. However, Iranian security forces reportedly took control of the vessel near Qeshm Island, close to Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.
