Marcus Hellwig

[1] One day before their arrest, Hellwig and Koch had entered Iran on tourist visas, planning to investigate the case of Sakineh Ashtiani, who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

Hellwig and Koch were suspected of having planned the operation with Mina Ahadi who was engaged via a regular telephone connection in the interview and served as a translator for the two Germans.

[1] On 1 January 2011 Sakineh Ashtiani announced in a press conference that she intended to sue the two German journalist for illegally interviewing her son about her case.

[4] after a visit by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Tehran for a rare meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

[1] A year after being released, Hellwig told readers of his tabloid that he "was regularly beaten and constantly interrogated" during the first 10 “brutal” days in captivity until a German diplomat intervened on their behalf.