The French national, who has been on a hunger strike since last month, is notably accused of espionage by Iran.
He had been arrested while visiting the country as a tourist. In September 2019, Benjamin Brière embarked on a long-term journey. In May 2020, he was arrested in Iran, accused of having taken prohibited photos using a drone in a natural park. On Tuesday, January 25, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a press release, the Quai d’Orsay is indignant: “This condemnation, which nothing can support, is unacceptable“.
And it’s not just the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is outraged. “The fact of not having been able to speak to him today at the announcement of this verdict generates growing concern“, warns Philippe Valent, Benjamin Brière’s lawyer, who specifies that “his state of physical health has totally deteriorated with the length of the hunger strike“. For almost a month, the French detainee has indeed stopped eating to protest against his conditions of detention. The second French national, Fariba Adelkhah, was reincarcerated in January.
