First there was the furore over their capture. Then the backlash when released. But no drama is ever complete without an accompanying movie, and yesterday Iran beat Hollywood to the mark by pledging to recount the entire 13-day affair in a film.
A book will also tell the story of the British sailors, accounts that are likely to dwell on the hospitality and fun they had, rather than the imprisonment and isolation.
What the producers will make of Arthur Batchelor’s claim that he lost his iPod and was traumatised by taunts that he resembled Mr Bean was unclear on Wednesday.
Iran’s armed forces HQ said the idea was hatched partly as a riposte to the sailors’ selling their stories to the British media, greeted with bewilderment in Iran. It is also a response to a Ministry of Defence press conference at which six sailors said their admissions of illegally entering Iranian waters, screened on state TV, were extracted under psychological pressure.
The book and film will challenge that view by “documenting” the sailors’ arrest, interrogations and alleged confessions.
Iranian officials have accused Britain of forcing the sailors to retract the admissions. Alireza Afshar, culture and defence propaganda deputy of the armed forces, dismissed the retractions as a “prepared text”. “Britain’s childish show after the sailors’ release … once again demonstrates the aggressive and reckless British disregard towards international regulations,” he said.
“The documented report over the process of the arrest, interrogation and British sailors’ confessions during the detention period is about to be prepared and will soon be presented as a film and book.” – Guardian Unlimited Â