Iran says Swiss national held on espionage charges kills himself in prison

TEHRAN, Iran — A Swiss national detained in Iran on espionage charges killed himself Thursday at a prison in rural Semnan province, state media reported.

The report by the Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency did not identify the man, only saying the man had asked his cellmate to bring him food and then killed himself while he was alone.

“Efforts to save him were unsuccessful,” Mizan quoted Mohammad Sadegh Akbari, the head of the province's justice department, as saying.

Semnan prison is some 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Tehran, Iran's capital.

Pierre-Alain Eltschinger, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the death in an e-mail.

“The Swiss Embassy in Tehran is in contact with the local authorities to clarify the circumstances of the death in an Iranian prison,” he said, adding officials were assisting the man’s relatives.

Switzerland has served as the protecting power for the United States since it ended its diplomatic relations with Iran in the wake of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis.