A French and German national has been acquitted of espionage charges in Iran after being arrested during the country's 12-day war with Israel, Mehr News Agency reported on October 6.

Monterlos, an 18-year-old dual French-German national from Besançon in eastern France, disappeared on June 16 whilst cycling through Iran. He vanished after leaving the city of Varzaneh towards the desert east of Isfahan.

Mojtaba Ghahramani, head of the judiciary in Hormozgan province, said Lennart Christian Jean Pierlo Monterlos was cleared despite being detained under special wartime conditions and facing an indictment.

"Despite the indictment being issued by the prosecutor's office, the Revolutionary Court, considering legal principles and doubt about the attributed crime, issued a verdict acquitting the defendant, though according to law the prosecutor has the right to appeal the ruling," Ghahramani said, according to Mehr.

The case was carefully examined and reviewed by the Revolutionary Court in Bandar Abbas, the judiciary chief said.

Ghahramani said the goal of the judicial system, in line with the directives of the head of the judiciary, is to implement the law and establish justice.

"The implementation of justice in the Islamic judicial system is a real and supreme principle and value; therefore, the breach of trust and double standards of politicians from some foreign countries towards the Iranian nation will not cause the principles of impartiality and implementation of law as principles of fair judgment to be ignored," he said.

The official said that cases involving espionage and infiltration agents are being handled according to the law with careful attention by the Hormozgan judiciary, and if criminal acts and roles of these individuals are proven, they will be dealt with decisively.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals in recent years, often on espionage-related charges.