Monday broadcast new footage of the British sailors and marines held for nearly a fortnight, saying the pictures of them playing table-tennis and watching a Premiership football game showed they were well treated.

Several of the 15 mariners said on their return to Britain at the weekend that "they had been maltreated and subjected to psychological pressure during their detention."

In a clear bid to counter the reports from Britain, Iran's Arabic language channel Al-Alam broadcast fresh footage that showed two sailors playing table-tennis and a larger group playing chess on a Persian carpet.

Other pictures showed them watching a crunch football game between Liverpool and Arsenal, laughing while sitting barefoot in tracksuits on a rug and tucking into a meal of kebabs and soup.

"These pictures show the relaxation and freedom they enjoyed during their detention period. This contradicts what they said when they arrived home in Britain," said the channel's newsreader.

"Tehran opened its arms and offered hospitality to the 15 British sailors," added the newsreader.

The footage appears to have been taken at the same time as photographs which were released by the Fars news agency the day before the shock announcement of their release by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday.

The sole female British sailor among the 15 captured, Faye Turney, said in an interview published Monday that "her captors stripped her to her underwear, lied to her and threatened she might never see her baby again."

Families of British soldiers killed in Iraq, politicians and military figures have heavily criticised the British government for allowing the 15 mariners to sell their stories to the media.

Güncelleme Tarihi: 20 Eylül 2018, 18:16