Britons Recount Capture, Detention

Their two inflatable boats were commandeered and taken to a local Iranian naval base, where they spent the night before being transferred to a prison in Tehran the next morning. There, they were subjected to "constant psychological pressure," said Carman, who also made opening remarks from a statement.

Crew members hardly ever saw one another, contrary to the impression left by Iranian television shots of them eating together, playing chess and drinking tea in informal settings. Letters and televised shots of members admitting to trespassing in Iranian waters were coerced, Carman said.

"We were interrogated most nights and presented with two options: If we admitted that we'd strayed, we'd be back on a plane to the U.K. pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison," he said. "We all at one time or another made a conscious decision to make a controlled release of nonoperational information. We were kept in isolation until the last few nights, when we were allowed to get together for a few hours, in the full glare of the Iranian media. . . . But that was very much a setup, very much a stunt for Iranian propaganda."

Carman said they jointly watched the news conference in which Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that they would be released as an Easter "present to the British people."

"We were made to then line up and meet the president, one at a time. My advice to everyone was not to mess this up now -- we all wanted to get home."

Some Britons have questioned the behavior of the 15 service personnel during their detention, but senior British military officials said the 15 acted appropriately.

"They appear to have played it by the rules," the chief of Naval Staff, Adm. Jonathon Band, told BBC radio on Friday. "They don't appear to have put themselves into danger, others into danger, they don't appear to have given anything away. And indeed I think, at the end, they were a credit to us."

Looking and sounding angry, Air said the group had been "exploited." Tindell, 21, described the entire two-week affair as "a complete media stunt" by Ahmadinejad.

Carman said that Turney, whose interviews and letters apologizing to the Iranian people were widely aired in Iran and around the world, in particular paid a high price.

"The fact that she is a woman has been used as a propaganda tool by Iran. This is deeply regrettable," he said.

Early in the ordeal, she was told that the others had been released, and for about four days she thought she was the only sailor still being detained, Air said. "Clearly, she was subjected to quite a lot of stress. . . . She coped admirably and retained a lot of dignity."

Special correspondent Karla Adam contributed to this report.