Helmut Hofer is reported to have left Iran today and returned to Germany. He was arrested and imprisoned in September 1997 and was sentenced to 99 lashes followed by death, after he was convicted of having had sexual relations with a Muslim Iranian woman, Vahideh Ghessemi. His sentence was later overturned but it is not known if a separate sentence of 99 lashes was carried out against Vahideh Ghessemi.
