Liam Reid
Mr Aidan Leahy, the Irish national kidnapped in Iran on December 2nd, is to arrive back in Ireland early next week.
Mr Leahy was freed last Sunday after spending nearly a month in captivity along with two Germans, having been captured while cycling through the south-east of the country.
He is expected to visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Iranian Embassy to thank some of the officials involved in working on his release. The mechanical engineer holds an Irish passport.
Mr Leahy returned home to his family outside London last Wednesday and is currently resting following his ordeal.
The Iranian authorities are reported to have arrested an unspecified number of men suspected of involvement in the kidnapping.
On Thursday, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said the men were in the hands of the intelligence ministry. It follows suggestions the kidnappers had links to al-Qaeda.
On his release, Mr Leahy told reporters that some of the kidnappers had claimed they were part of the Taliban. Mr Leahy said he and Germans David Storm and Oliver Brug were seized as they cycled in Sistan-Baluchistan province, not far from the city of Bam, which was subsequently devastated by an earthquake.
